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frogwithlittlehammer's review against another edition
Didn’t know I signed up for an Abramovic hagiography ╮(︶︿︶)╭
lbolesta's review against another edition
3.0
Ok so m.a. Did a seminar when I was in grad school and I was Not Impressed but it was interesting to see this take
grayssuh's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
roseanne80's review against another edition
5.0
“He understood with vivid clarity that the best ideas came from a place with a sign on the door saying I don’t know.”
molskeenan's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.5
‘He was not my first musician, Arky Levin. Nor my least successful. Mostly by his age potential is squandered or realised. But this is not a story of potential. It is a story of convergence.’
These first four sentences intrigued me. What followed hooked me. Arky Levin, a composer of film scores, is separated from his terminally ill wife at her request. Bereft, he is unable to compose. One day, he visits the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He intends to see the Burton exhibition but the corridor to the exhibition was crowded, and he had to leave. He went through an exit, heard a murmur from the atrium, and found himself witnessing Marina Abramović during her 3-month performance called 'The Artist is Present'. During this performance, Marina Abramović sat absolutely still for 7 hours a day on 6 days a week, while members of the public sat opposite her, gazing into her eyes.
Marina Abramović’s performance provides the backdrop to Arky Levin’s story. The story unfolds from multiple viewpoints, but it is Arky’s life that drew my focus. Who would think that silent performance art could be so inviting, offer such potential to those participating (either by watching or by sitting opposite Marina Abramović) to consider and explore the meaning of life? Not me, and yet I am drawn into the scene. Marina Abramović is both vessel and vehicle: her attentive pose invites both reflection and a form of intimacy. I step back from the scene to observe others, and I wonder.
Seven years after I first read this novel I am still wondering. I don’t need to reread the novel to capture the power of Marina Abramović’s performance, but I do need to reread it to reacquaint myself with some of the reactions of the (fictional) people who are part of the story. Or do I? I am content thinking that the lives of the fictional characters were enriched by their experience, and I imagine the same for those who attended in person: a singular connection while the world outside is banished for a period. And in that space, between disconnection and reconnection with the outside world, is an opportunity for reflection.
Yes, I will revisit this novel.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
These first four sentences intrigued me. What followed hooked me. Arky Levin, a composer of film scores, is separated from his terminally ill wife at her request. Bereft, he is unable to compose. One day, he visits the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He intends to see the Burton exhibition but the corridor to the exhibition was crowded, and he had to leave. He went through an exit, heard a murmur from the atrium, and found himself witnessing Marina Abramović during her 3-month performance called 'The Artist is Present'. During this performance, Marina Abramović sat absolutely still for 7 hours a day on 6 days a week, while members of the public sat opposite her, gazing into her eyes.
Marina Abramović’s performance provides the backdrop to Arky Levin’s story. The story unfolds from multiple viewpoints, but it is Arky’s life that drew my focus. Who would think that silent performance art could be so inviting, offer such potential to those participating (either by watching or by sitting opposite Marina Abramović) to consider and explore the meaning of life? Not me, and yet I am drawn into the scene. Marina Abramović is both vessel and vehicle: her attentive pose invites both reflection and a form of intimacy. I step back from the scene to observe others, and I wonder.
Seven years after I first read this novel I am still wondering. I don’t need to reread the novel to capture the power of Marina Abramović’s performance, but I do need to reread it to reacquaint myself with some of the reactions of the (fictional) people who are part of the story. Or do I? I am content thinking that the lives of the fictional characters were enriched by their experience, and I imagine the same for those who attended in person: a singular connection while the world outside is banished for a period. And in that space, between disconnection and reconnection with the outside world, is an opportunity for reflection.
Yes, I will revisit this novel.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
geenybell's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful and poetic exploration of the present, the past, the future. Of human connection, love and what it is to be alive and open yourself to the fullness of that.
It was truly a beautiful book, I cried through the last chapters. And I am writing this as I am still absorbing the words that managed to capture something in this book that I didn’t think they could. The feeling of what it is to be aware of the weight of a present moment, and all that surrounds it.
It was truly a beautiful book, I cried through the last chapters. And I am writing this as I am still absorbing the words that managed to capture something in this book that I didn’t think they could. The feeling of what it is to be aware of the weight of a present moment, and all that surrounds it.
kristianawithak's review against another edition
5.0
This book is such an exquisite blend of fact and fiction. I had never heard of Marina Abramovic or The Artist is Present installation at the moma. Everything read like a dream and I didn’t want to look up what parts of the novel were real or imagined.
The Museum of Modern Love is centered around the performance piece The Artist is Present, where Abramovic sat on a chair in the Moma for 75 days with the invitation that people could come and sit across from her. The novel floats around telling the fictionalized stories of museum goers drawn to the piece, touching on Abramovic’s previous performance pieces and her personal history.
It’s a beautiful discussion of life and love and art. I loved it. It’s well written, captivating and touching.
The Museum of Modern Love is centered around the performance piece The Artist is Present, where Abramovic sat on a chair in the Moma for 75 days with the invitation that people could come and sit across from her. The novel floats around telling the fictionalized stories of museum goers drawn to the piece, touching on Abramovic’s previous performance pieces and her personal history.
It’s a beautiful discussion of life and love and art. I loved it. It’s well written, captivating and touching.
bookishannie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0