The Audience Nearly Killed Her: Marina Abramović's Human Sacrifice

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Today we are exploring the most shocking examples of performance art and focusing on Marina Abramović’s famous experiment ‘Rhythm 0’. In 1974 in Italy, Marina allowed the audience to do whatever they wanted to her, and the results were shocking.

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Disclaimer: I mean no disrespect to anyone that I talk about in this video. Everything in this video is publicly available information that myself and my team have found and compiled into one piece. This video will cover especially sensitive topics, viewer discretion is advised.While we make every effort to fact-check our sources and make sure all our information is correct - no action should be taken in reliance upon the information in this video. Please keep the comments respectful and kind. All opinions in this video are mine alone.

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[HyenaBellaDanceNSing]

Love how they spun that. “She asked!” No, she gave you the opportunity, she did not TELL you to use the weapons or harm her, she said that it was a possibility. You took that opportunity.

[smartestgirl]

*_She never told anyone to do this. She didn't say anything. She just didn't defend herself in order to test how horrible these people could be when they had no consequences._*

[malena]

immediately after you showed the picture of the woman wiping off Marinas tears I started crying. idk that seemed so so pure and empathetic.

[heylove]

It was her showing people how cruel they are when someone allows a stranger to do anything they want to her, people really show their true colors

[makaylaboswell]

It reminds me of how some people claim celebrities/influencers who are harassed or berated for no reason deserve it cause they "put themselves out there" to the public. Like somehow giving the world access to you is asking for pain and punishment

[carsensikyta]

The “Artist is Present” moment where Ole (sp?) sits there always makes me cry. It’s the most brilliant display of love and empathy that can be shared between two people.

[Julianne__]

The fact a woman was standing by marina and wiping away her tears, makes me wanna cry that’s so sweet and supportive in my opinion

[strangetimez]

"Rhythm 0" could have ended with people feeding her grapes and honey.Its interesting that people gravitate towards violence more than anything else that was placed on that table.

[birdsephone]

The way my breath was shaking when you described them taking out the gun... What an art piece. No one hugged her, the first thing I think is you could cover her from damage, you didn't have the same rules as her. I dont know, I don't see it happening, but if the people in that room had decided to coccoon her this would have said a very different thing about humanity, but we know what happens to people when we get between them and abusers. Very scary, she is an incredible artist, I have to wonder if she was testing her limits of nonreactivity at certain points. I'd imagine she is incredible at the grey-rock approach lol.

[sylv]

I feel like any of the people cruel enough to participate in the harm of an innocent woman just because she is vulnerable before them can be considered pure evil

[Ava-eqex]

the men saying “she’s told us to do this” is so horrible but not at all surprising.

[greenghoul]

When you have someone pushing the boundaries of performance art to the extreme you're always going to see the darkness of humanity reveal itself

[fullmetalheartt]

I know most people are focusing on the horrific nature of human beings being given permission to do anything... but the meeting of her and Ulay after twenty years was so poignant. What a beautiful touching of two souls that shared something so profound. What a gorgeous example of humanity.

[CarolineElanorMcloughlin]

Im horrified that anyone could treat another human like they mean nothing. The fact they all had the opportunity to do nice things but didnt really speaks volume. That picture of Marina crying is heartbreaking.

[_sapphic]

No exaggeration I've caught myself crying three times watching this video. Just the sheer emotion that gut punches you is astounding. I can't stop thinking that if I were at that performance piece I would just kneel beside her and stroke her hair behind her ear and sing to her. Just to show some people can be comforting and some of us acknowledge those of us struggling and having a rough day - to let her or someone know that you aren't alone. That's all I want to do now.

[ravensilverfire]

The male response of "She asked us to" sounds too much like the "She was asking for it" Excuse rapists give for raping their victims. Humanity can be sickening

[jordanhelaine]

genuinely the first time i heard of this experiment, it began with something along the lines of “if a woman was entirely vulnerable to you and you could do whatever you want to her, what would you do” and my immediate response was to hug her. i just want a hug. i watch these videos because i genuinely don’t understand how these cruel peoples minds work and i find it so fascinating but also so scary

[murtaghmorzansson]

God, Marina and Ulay, just holding hands and staring at each other, crying together, actually brought me to tears. I'm actively trying not to sob. I don't even know what to say about it, it's just moving.

[svluna]

The fellow woman wiping her tears away really struck me. All I thought was "maybe I'd get a genuine hug or braid her hair".. sickening to know where other people's minds are. This was truly the most interesting thing I saw in a while Eleanor!

[ninjakittycat]

It breaks my heart to know that people blame Marina for their actions. They had every opportunity to grab a harmless items and they chose to be violent. They are all hiding some very disgusting truths about themselves. Marina seriously is a badass.