Comments on: Marina Abramović | 10.25 – 11.1.2008

By: kevin G

kevin G — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:09:02 +0000

….To be able to eat an entire onion raw… extraordinary. To be able to keep a straight face while eating an entire onion raw….beautiful!! The way the focus was right on the face as the whole frame was key to the effect given to the viewer. So powerful with very little detail in the video.

By: zac

zac — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:35:42 +0000

This piece was entertaining and left me with a new outlook of being uncomfortable. I was so drawn to the anticipation of the next bite, while at the same time I couldn’t help but to gag while she was chewing. I feel as if she pronounced and exclaimed what she was sick of more clearly, the message would be seen directly. But I also feel if she did that, I would lose my curiosity and will power to keep watching…

By: Brandon Cady

Brandon Cady — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:39:47 +0000

This one is very hard to watch, it definitely invokes a sense of being uncomfortable. I didn’t necessarily understand the dialogue as much though, other than repetitive complaining. But you get a feeling of her detirmination and struggle against those odds, as seen through her struggling with eating the onion.

By: nick

nick — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:50:25 +0000

extremely hard to watch. I’m not a fan of raw onion to begin with so this video literally made me gag and my eyes water. however, excellent. the voice over about enduring that which truly annoys and aggravates clearly displays the intent of enduring devouring the onion. the uncut single shot truly drives the point home when at the end she is a mess — makeup running lipstick smeared, drool and all. makes my bitterness about life seem a bit superfluous.

By: Jessie

Jessie — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:34:49 +0000

This video is awesome. It’s hard to watch at times, especially when she just stops for just a second and sighs this long breath. You almost think she’s going to give up and then she goes at it again. The look on her face and the tears that eventually build up make this video even better. The video is like a car accident you can’t look away from even though your grossed out. The first few times I watched it I didn’t really know or hear what she was saying because I was so interested in what she was doing. After hearing what she was saying I don’t really feel the audio fits. I feel she could have complained about something more then her lifestyle.

By: Andrea W

Andrea W — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:56:10 +0000

I think as artist we all struggle with limitations of oneself. The way she expresses her pain through this un-glorified scene is brilliant. There is this impressive beauty that comes across in her eyes through physical and mental pain as she is eats the repulsive onion. I would rather eat a raw onion then do half the things she is expressing. The pain is amplified by the fact that she does this over and over again is unbelievable. The onion is like the life she is living in even though we may be jealous of her fame. Everyday to her is the bite of the onion as it is some clearly seen with every bite. No matter what we are doing or where we are at in our lives we always have to deal with the taste of the onion. Bravo.

By: Amber Martin

Amber Martin — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:55:56 +0000

Adrienne-
Nice comment. I was thinking the same thing. LOL. That is why I was wondering if the video would work better with out the voice over. A wider range of audience would then be able to relate to it better. Unless Marina wants it to be more personal. However, some of the statements (especially the ones toward the end of the voice over) don’t bother me as much

By: Adrienne Marks

Adrienne Marks — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:27:58 +0000

At first I thought I would be able to watch this video without a problem. I like onions, I’ve seen people eat them like apples before, but there is that moment when she gags and her eyes are tearing up that I almost lost it. The visuals overpowered the audio, I didn’t even pay attention the first few times I watched it. And when I finally did all I could think was “Wow, it must be so hard being famous.” It’s like the popular girl complaining about being invited to too many parties. I really feel bad for you, being a famous artist and traveling all over the world, people liking your work and paying you baot loads of money for it must be hard.

By: Amber

Amber — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:09:05 +0000

I thought this video was amazing, you can physically feel her emotional pain. Loved it. However because I was so intrigued by the video and can relate to it I am more interested in the process of the video. After thinking about the video over the last couple days I want to know if this was some thing that she was able to shoot on the first try or did she have to build her endurance up the same way we have to build up our own tolerance to physical and mental pain? Another question that arose to me was the sound. Although I think the voice over sound works well with the video I wonder what effect it would have on the video if it was taken out and you could hear the sound of her chewing, slurping and whimpering better.

By: Morgana

Morgana — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:43:02 +0000

It is hard to watch this video, first she starts off very determined, but the more the video progresses the more agitated she becomes. Having it projected and the sound turned up I could here the little whimpering noises that she was making as she ate the onion. Not liking onions myself, it hurt to watch her eat it. As the visuals become harder to endure I was forced to listen more closely with what she was saying during the video, and the fact that she was eating this onion that physically pained her while she was reciting these things that she mentally had to endure was a very powerful contrast.