In 2010, legendary Yugoslavia-born performance artist Marina Abramovic sat silently before her audience and stared into the eyes of those brave enough to engage with her intense gaze. She sat very still, “like a mountain.”
Held at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, audience members took turns to sit across Abramovic, where they were allowed to remain seated for as long as they desired.
This seemingly bizarre act garnered very emotional responses, with many of her audience smarting tears that eventually streamed down their faces. Some took just 5 minutes—others 164 before emotion welled up and came down as tears.
In total, Abramovic spent 716 hours and 30 minutes over a span of 3 months, staring into the eyes of more than 1,500 people.
Last year, a book chronicling the emotion expressed via this work, was released. Titled, Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramovic, some of the powerful images from this book are featured below for you to bear witness to the effect of Abramovic's performance:
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[via Mymodernmet.com, images via Marina Abramovic Made Me Cry]