Mar

Art as performance, performance as art

The Hirshhorn Museum will present performance-art pioneer Marina Abramović (Yugoslav, b. 1946) for this year’s James T. Demetrion Lecture April 5 at 7 p.m. Since 2004, the museum has hosted this annual lecture dedicated to providing Hirshhorn audiences with a special opportunity to engage with major contemporary art figures. Abramović, riding a wave of critical and public acclaim since her groundbreaking retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, travels to Washington to discuss issues surrounding the historicization and continued growth of performance art. Among them: How is performance art preserved? Can it be re-performed? Can it be taught and how? Who is performing now and why? At a time when the medium is becoming increasingly part of mainstream culture, this topic fuels dynamic discussion.

In anticipation of the lecture, the Hirshhorn is offering several opportunities to consider Abramović’s work in relation to contemporary ideas about performance art. “Light/Dark” (1977), a video of a performance by Abramović and her former collaborator Ulay, is on view on the museum’s third level. The work, which features the two artists kneeling face to face, alternately slapping each other until one stops, serves as the starting point for two upcoming programs in our weekly lunchtime series, Friday Gallery Talks. On March 18 at 12:30 p.m., New York-based performance and video artist Blithe Riley focuses on the role of film and video in presenting and representing performance art. The Hirshhorn’s Director of Public Programs Milena Kalinovska shares her thoughts on Abramović’s work April 1 at 12:30 p.m.

Artist Marina Abramovic performs during the "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present" exhibition opening night party at The Museum of Modern Art on March 9, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H, Walker/Getty Images North America)

The Hirshhorn is hosting a live question-and-answer session on Twitter with Abramović March 22 from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Questions will be accepted and answered in real-time by the artist at www.twitter.com/hirshhorn.

Tickets for the lecture are available by advance registration only. Beginning March 23, one ticket per person can be reserved via Eventbrite until all seats are filled. The lecture will also be webcast live. For more information about ticketing and viewing the webcast, visit the Hirshhorn’s website.