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In Studio Morra, Naples, 1974, there was a table with seventy-two objects. These objects varied from instruments of pleasure to instruments of pain, such as a rose, lipstick, a knife, and a gun with a bullet. Standing at the centre of this performative art piece was Marina Abramović, a Serbian conceptual and performance artist who was conducting the final piece in her series, Rhythms, which she designed to test the limits of the human body. The written instructions that accompanied the piece read as follows:
Instructions.
There are seventy-two objects on this table that one can use on me as desired.
Performance
I am the object.
During this period I take full responsibility.
The piece is called Rhythm 0, and it changed not only the nature of performance art but also how we understand the battle between human aggression, attraction, and order.
Rhythm 0 lasted six hours, in which time people used the instruments on Abramović in a variety of ways. Initially, the interactions were calm and gentle. People would hand her a rose, give her wine, gently kiss her, etc. However, what started as passive quickly turned horrifically violent. People, particularly men, increasingly began to commit violent, exploitative, and aggressive acts. Using the scissors, men cut Abramović’s clothing. They then proceeded to grope her body and commit acts of sexual assault. She was carried to a table and had a knife placed between her legs. The violation was relentless, as people cut her neck and drank her blood. Someone even placed a loaded gun to her neck. The photos taken during the performance are incredibly harrowing to see. The tears in Abramović’s eyes at experiencing such violating and abusive treatment forces us to confront the misogynistic and brutal nature of humanity that is veiled only by a pressure to adhere to the social contract. Once the six hours concluded and she began to move of her own volition, people fled. They were unable to face what they had inflicted upon her. Abramović asserted that ‘if you leave the decisions to the public, you can be killed.’
Whilst the performance is an exposé of human nature and compulsion in itself, it evidenced the misogynistic and patriarchal culture that hides behind a façade of social norms. By positioning herself as an object, Abramović rendered herself as a canvas for desire. The horrific treatment she faced was evidence of what darkness lies in humankind when you scratch beneath the surface. The urge to violate, abuse, and humiliate women for the men who observed the performance was so strong that all it took was an opportunity for them to exercise it. By merely removing the threat of accountability and by having Abramović present under the guise of feminine passivity, this was enough to evoke the depravity of human nature and desire. It is a very real fear for women that they will be subjected to the will and mistreatment of men. Sexual violence and abuse are becoming an ever-present threat in our contemporary society. As we enter a terrifying age of increasingly conservative views, we are more commonly seeing the urge men have to demean and control women. Rhythm 0 shines a spotlight on this issue. By using her body as a medium and blending the lines between art and life, Abramović exemplified how misogyny and mistreatment is a danger deeply ingrained within the experience of womanhood.
Rhythm 0 played a large role in changing the way performance art is perceived. In the 70s, performance art was often deemed meaningless and masochistic. Abramović said herself that people often believed that ‘This is not art, it’s nothing.’ Rhythm 0 was not exempt from this criticism. However, it has increasingly come to be appreciated for its harrowing reminder of the dangers of existing in the face of human desire. Abramović’s work deserves all the critical acclaim it has garnered, as it has opened our eyes to the terrifying reality of being a woman in society.
Written by Matilda Davies
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