When someone like Marina Abramović goes on a video-making blitz, people take notice. The most recent video released in support of her institute’s Kickstarter campaign features a naked and bellowing Lady Gaga standing in the woods. While most commentators have taken to pointing out how “weird” and “NSFW” the piece is (that last part is actually objectively true), it’s worth looking at it from the artist’s own perspective.
In the video below — premiering exclusively at Flavorwire — Abramović addresses the relationship between artists of different generations, providing an interesting lens for understanding the Gaga/Abramović super-duo. It would be a lie to say that most of us don’t feel a certain kneejerk suspicion when we hear an established artist speaking about getting new energy and ideas from younger artists. In the wrong hands, intergenerational working relationships can turn into cesspools of narcissism at best or full-on exploitation at worst. Luckily, Abramović’s vision seems refreshingly devoid of that. This video, directed by Noah Blumenson-Cook, gives viewers a fairly succinct understanding of the creative process she envisions for artists interested in long durational work. It only makes sense that such a potentially intensive practice is ripe for, and in a way requires, collaboration between experience and ebullience.