Marina Abramovic Rhythm 0 Work <Web>

In 1974, at Studio Morra in Naples, Marina Abramović stood still for six hours. Next to her was a table with 72 objects—ranging from a rose and honey to a whip, a scalpel, and a loaded gun. A sign informed the audience: "I am the object. During this period I take full responsibility."

Rhythm 0: Vulnerability and Resistance

: Published in The Performative Artistic Process as Agent of Change , this chapter focuses on the connection between vulnerability, resistance, and gender norms evoked during the performance. marina abramovic rhythm 0

Original footage of Rhythm 0 is scarce and grainy (the 1970s were not kind to video documentation). However, the work lives on through: In 1974, at Studio Morra in Naples, Marina

• Immediate reaction: When Abramović stood and walked toward the audience after six hours, they fled. She reported feeling “completely alone… they couldn’t face me as a human being.”
• Physical damage: Cuts, bruises, mild hypothermia, a superficial wound from the scalpel, rose thorns embedded in her skin.
• Psychological trauma: Abramović suffered nightmares for months. She nearly abandoned performance art, stating: “I felt dead. Dead in my body. I understood that the public could do anything.”
• Career pivot: She later developed collaborative works with Ulay (1976–88) that required mutual trust, a direct response to Rhythm 0’s betrayal.