Artist explains why she let fashion designer ‘suck her t**’ for piece and says it was ‘not easy to do’
A Serbian artist's work certainly goes beyond putting a bit of paint on a canvas, and she's opened up about why she let a fashion designer 'suck her t**'' in the name of art.
Marina Abramović is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist whose work explores the limits of the body, the possibilities of the mind, and the relationship between the artist and their audience.
During her expansive career, the 78-year-old has really pushed the limits on what's socially acceptable or expected when it comes to art. And, in a piece called 'Contract,' the artist told fashion designer Riccardo Tisci to 'suck her t**'.
Abramović, who's appeared in a number of fashion editorial shoots over the years explained on the Massimo Dutti YouTube channel: "I remember with Riccardo Tisci, we made this something called 'Contract'.
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"He said, 'Let's make work together'. So I say, 'Is it true that fashion is always inspired by art?' And he says, 'Of course we're inspired by art because we're looking at the art magazines, we're looking at the shows, we're looking at artists, and we get inspiration.'
"And I say, 'Okay, our work is going to be like this. I'm art because I will use my body. You're fashion, you're going to suck my t**.'"
Abramović continued: "And it was not easy to do but I'm happy. This was a really strong fashion statement at the time."
Another of the artist's most well-known and controversial pieces saw Abramović invite spectators to do anything to her and her body, and the artist said she would take 'full responsibility' for their actions.
During the 1974 performance at Italy's Galleria Studio Mora, Abramović remained completely still for six hours as members of the public used 72 pre-selected items on her however they desired in a piece titled 'Rhythm 0'.
What they chose to do ranged from tame to pretty sinister. While some chose to give her flowers and hold her hands, others stripped her of her clothing and stuck a knife between her legs. It's even been reported that she ended up with a loaded gun to her head, prompting people to step in and end the performance.
In a 2014 interview with the Guardian, Abramović said she was 'ready to die'.
"I had a pistol with bullets in it, my dear. I was ready to die," she told the newspaper.
She went on to say that she felt 'lucky' that she lived to tell the tale.
Topics: Art, Marina Abramović, World News, Fashion
Bec Oakes