My final paper, “The Artist is Present and the Emotions are Real: Time, Vulnerability, and Gender in Marina Abramovic’s Performance Art,” examines several aspects of performance art—vulnerability, time, and gender—to determine their overall contribution to the audience’s emotional response. Marina Abramovic’s performance, “The Artist is Present,” is used as a lens for my argument. At the MOMA in New York City, Abramovic invites strangers to stare at her in silence for as long as they please. Things become quite interesting when various participants break down into tears for no apparent reason. Overall, I think much of this paper’s success stems from how interesting the topic is. Who would expect emotion from a seeming lack of interaction?
RYAN LADER is a rising sophomore in Boston University’s College of Engineering, planning to major in mechanical engineering and minor in finance. Lader was born and raised in a Long Island suburban community. He wrote this paper for WR 100, and would like to dedicate his work to both his family and Carrie Bennett, his writing professor.