Abramovic against Abercrombie: Art or Frottage?

translation by Andrew Z. Giacalone
original article here by Leonardo Staglianò

Marina Abramovic is an internationally renowned performance artist whose explorations of the human body and its limitations frequently coerce the audience into a forced interaction with her art.

Over the past 40 years, whether alone or in the company of her ex-partner Ulay, Abramovic has pushed herself to new limits through her art. She has eaten unpeeled onions despite the inevitable urge to tear-up and vomit; she has taken pills that induced catatonia and caused seizures; she has performed naked with Ulay, the two of them walking the length of a room only to repeatedly bump into each other; and, by placing 70 objects, including a pistol and a knife, on a table, she has challenged the public to interact with her… even through violence.

In Imponderabilia, one of her more famous ‘human installations’, she and Ulay, naked as always, were positioned on opposing sides of a tight passageway, requiring the public to squeeze past them. It was first ‘performed’ at Bologna’s Gallery of Modern Art in 1977 and put the public in the awkward position of having to rub against a naked body- either his or hers- in order to access the performance space.

And recently, the MoMA brought Marina Abramovic to New York, where for three months she sat, immobile on a chair at the center of a vast, empty room and stared at individual members of the public who would sit across from her. I saw people break down and cry after 15 minutes of silent staring. And if you visit this Facebook page you will find the enthusiastic testimonies of those who endured the experience.

MoMA, May 2010 - photo credit: Beatrice Avallone

While all of this was taking place on the ground floor, the sixth floor featured video and other ‘human’ installations reaching into Abramovic’s performance past, including a reworking of Imponderabilia. With the usual two naked performers standing on either side of a narrow passageway, the public was invited to pass through them as many times as they wished, inescapably rubbing against them. And, of course, the blogs picked up the widely spread gossip that one of the performers was duly fired for his continuous and unrestrained erections.

MoMA - photo credit: Valentina Locatelli

MoMA is located at 11 West 53rd Street. A mere three blocks away, at 720 Fifth Avenue- two steps away from Prada and Tiffany- is the infamous and least tacky of the Abercrombie & Fitch shops- a brand that appeals mostly to capricious teenagers and the eternally youthful. With stores across America, in Milan and in Tokyo, Abercrombie is very popular because, yes, it is fashionable, but also because its advertising features a multitude of half-naked models shot by Calvin Klein photographer Bruce Weber. Abercrombie is also doing very well financially: the Fifth Avenue flagship store is only second to the nearby Apple Store in terms of being the neighborhood’s most profitable outlets.

Another aspect rendering Abercrombie a must-see destination spot (other than the clothes, of course) is the club-like atmosphere that reigns within the shop itself- dimly lit, perfumed chambers, pulsing music, luxurious leather armchairs conveniently placed here-and-there. The ratio of scantily clad models-cum-salespeople to customers is comparable to that of teachers to students in an Ivy League school, or 10-to-1.

Abercrombie & Fitch - Beatrice Avallone, our reporter

When you first enter Abercrombie & Fitch, you’re greeted by the cheeky, white-toothed grin of a tall, blond Californian dude; further in, a slender, leggy, honey-dew-skinned model gives you a casual ‘Hi.’ They both wear tight jeans and unbuttoned shirts and an endless line of young girls (and the occasional boy) is queued up to take pictures with them. With adolescent been-there-done-that insouciance, the boy slowly pulls his shirt up to reveal his hard-earned abs; the girl strikes a pose with pouted lips. The camera flashes; the crowd goes wild.

This phenomenon is even more acute at Abercrombie’s younger, sister store, Hollister. In fact, its success amongst its teenage target almost ruffled Abercrombie’s first-place feathers. Consequently, Hollister has cheaper and less ‘sophisticated’ clothes.

Hollister’s NY shop, at the corner of Houston and Broadway, vaunts a series of video displays featuring images of the current season. In summer, for example, lazy waves lap onto naked shores. The speakers throb with funk music interspersed with erotic sighs making one question whether they’re in a ‘70s porno or a high-street shop. The models, needless to say, trot around in skimpy bathing suits.

Hollister - Beatrice Avallone, our reporter

While one undecidedly sifts through a pile of horizontal-striped t-shirts and peruses other buttoned-downs with tiny checkers, the Beautiful People linger listlessly behind you, slowly folding merchandise, talking amongst themselves, and standing on either side of the narrow passageways (brings anything to mind?). If one climbs to the next few levels (both Abercrombie and Hollister have 4 floors), the models are there, waiting on the landings, concealed around every bend, posing in every corner. And if one wants to go up or down, left or right, take a look at that shirt, try those pants on, there is no escaping it: you inevitably rub up against them. Your only choice, it would seem, is deciding against whom to rub up against.

Hollister - photo credit: Beatrice Avallone

So, perhaps I’m running around in circles on this one, but as far as I’ve understood, this is how things stand: if I’m 20 years old, have rock hard abs, and can maintain a flaccid penis, I can work for both Abercrombie & Fitch and Marina Abramovic. The choice is mine. In the latter case, I’d be an artist, expressing himself within the context of performance, and would be observed and evaluated even by those haughty critics from The New York Times. But in the former scenario, I’d be a salesperson with an ego, conceding an occasional cheap-feel to a pimple-faced teen. A part from the fact that at MoMA photograph taking was prohibited and at Hollister and Abercrombie it is encouraged, what’s the big difference between the two?

Hollister - Beatrice Avallone, our reporter

I’ll leave you with one last anecdote: Hollister will soon be opening a megastore at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City, just a few steps from MoMA. The distance between the museum and the store is now, at least physically, almost nothing. The question is: how close are the two from a conceptual point of view?

MoMA - photo credit: Valentina Locatelli