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Star (from the portfolio `Dear Stieglitz?)
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? Courtesy of the Artist and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York., 2006

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Star (from the portfolio `Dear Stieglitz?) 1994
This photograph relates to a performance called `Lips of Thomas? from 1973, in which the artist tested her physical endurance. In the manner of offering herself as a ritual sacrifice, Abramovic ate a kilogram of honey, drank a litre of red wine, and cut a five-pointed star into her stomach with a razor blade. She then whipped herself until she could no longer feel any pain and finally lay on a cross made of ice. The photograph is from a portfolio called `Dear Stieglitz,? named in homage to Alfred Stieglitz, the photographer and gallery owner who published the art-photography journal `Camera Work? in the early Twentieth century. The portfolio features the work of artists whose photography `shows an obvious, personal and also very outspoken attitude towards their surroundings.?

Glossary Open

Performance art

Works in which the actions of the artist constitute the art. Artists have used performance techniques throughout the 20th century but the term is usually applied to works from the 1960s onwards.

Portfolio

A group of art works, by one or more artists, issued or housed together in a portfolio case. This often applies to photographs or prints, and portfolios often include a title page or introductory text. The term is also used to describe a group of works which exemplify an artist's work overall.

Performance art, Portfolio

Details

  • Acc. No. GMA 4191 A
  • Medium Colour photographic print
  • Size 40.00 x 40.00 cm
  • Credit Purchased 1997

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