Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramovic

After becoming an internet sensation, Marco Anelli’s powerful portraits of sitters in the historic 2010 Marina Abramovi? performance at The Museum of Modern Art, New York are now collected and available in their entirety in this volume entitled Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramovi?. The centerpiece of the landmark retrospective Marina Abramovi?: 'The Artist Is Present' was Abramovi? herself, who sat silently in the museum’s atrium, inviting visitors to take a seat across from her for as long as they chose. She sat every day for the run of the show—716 hours and 30 minutes—and faced more than 1500 people, whose participation completed the work. Marco Anelli’s photographic project captured every interaction, taking a portrait of each participant and noting the time they spent in the chair. Just as Abramovi?’s piece concerned duration, the photographs give the viewer a chance to experience the performance from Abramovi?’s perspective. They reveal both dramatic and mundane moments, and speak to the humanity of such interactions, just as the performance itself did. The resultant photographs are mesmerizing and intense, putting a face to the world of art lovers while capturing what they shared during their contact with the artist.