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December 31, 2009

The Artist is Present

A love story that spans decades is made poignant in this short video. In the late 1970s, Marina Abramović and Ulay fell in love and created art together. As they ended their relationship, they created art in that too. With Marina walking from the Yellow Sea and Ulay from the Gobi Desert, they each walked over 1000 miles to meet on the Great Wall of China. They hugged for a final time and left each other. 

“At her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, where she shared a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing and this is what happened.” (via zen garage)