Seven Easy Pieces
Encyclopedia
Seven Easy Pieces was the title of a series of performances
given by Marina Abramović
at the Guggenheim Museum
in New York City
in 2005.
In an interview in the New York Times in early November, 2005, Abramović explained the impetus for her most recent performances, stating that "she felt a strong need to preserve the memory of performances that influenced her as an artist. 'There's nobody to keep the history straight ... I feel almost, like, obliged. I felt like I have this function to do it.' And this sense only grew stronger when she began to see ideas behind many important performances borrowed with no credit given, or appropriated by advertising and fashion."
Beginning on November 9, Abramović presented Seven Easy Pieces at the Guggenheim Museum. On seven consecutive nights she recreated the works of five artists first performed in the 60s and 70s, in addition to performing two personal pieces.
Here is a full list of the works performed:
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
given by Marina Abramović
Marina Abramovic
Marina Abramović is a Belgrade-born New York-based Serbian performance artist who began her career in the early 1970s. Active for over three decades, she has recently begun to describe herself as the “grandmother of performance art.” Abramović's work explores the relationship between performer and...
at the Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2005.
In an interview in the New York Times in early November, 2005, Abramović explained the impetus for her most recent performances, stating that "she felt a strong need to preserve the memory of performances that influenced her as an artist. 'There's nobody to keep the history straight ... I feel almost, like, obliged. I felt like I have this function to do it.' And this sense only grew stronger when she began to see ideas behind many important performances borrowed with no credit given, or appropriated by advertising and fashion."
Beginning on November 9, Abramović presented Seven Easy Pieces at the Guggenheim Museum. On seven consecutive nights she recreated the works of five artists first performed in the 60s and 70s, in addition to performing two personal pieces.
Here is a full list of the works performed:
- Bruce NaumanBruce NaumanBruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives in Galisteo, New Mexico....
's Body PressureBody PressureBody Pressure is a 1974 performance piece by American artist Bruce Nauman. The performer is instructed to press himself against a pane of glass in various positions; Nauman says that it "may become a very erotic experience"....
, (1974) - Vito AcconciVito AcconciVito Hannibal Acconci is a Bronx, New York-born, Brooklyn-based designer, landscape architect, performance and installation artist.-Education:...
's SeedbedSeedbed (performance piece)Seedbed is a performance piece first performed by Vito Acconci on 15–29 January 1972 at Sonnabend Gallery in New York.In the piece, there is a low wooden ramp merging with the floor...
, (1972) - Valie ExportValie ExportValie Export is an Austrian artist...
's Action Pants: Genital Panic (1969) - Gina PaneGina PaneGina Pane..... was a French artist. She was one of the founders of the 1970s Body Art movement in France, called "Art corporel". Pane was best known for her performance piece The Conditioning which was recreated by Marina Abramovic as part of her 7 easy pieces in 2005....
's The Conditioning (1973) - Joseph BeuysJoseph BeuysJoseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
's How to Explain Pictures to a Dead HareHow to Explain Pictures to a Dead HareHow to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare was a performance piece enacted by the German artist Joseph Beuys on 26 November 1965 at the Galerie Schmela in Düsseldorf...
(1965) - Abramović's own Lips of Thomas (1975)
- Abramović's own Entering the Other Side (2005)