A few weeks into my retirement, I read an article about artist Marina Abramovic. Here was a familiar name! I remembered her difficult to pronounce last name when describing her work, Flock II, to fellow docents. And now here she was doing performance art! I marveled that she could do so many things!
For the next several years, every article about Marina further cemented my bond with her. I knew her real work - it was at the Des Moines Art Center!
In my new Des Moines Art Center Collects seven pound book, the vital statistics of the artist who created Flock II, the work I described in my presentation, didn't make sense to me. It said she was born in 1930. How could this be? The latest article reported that she was 67. And when I looked closely, her name was Magdalena Abakanowicz.
Yes, years ago I mistakenly decided that Marina Abramovic was Magdalena Abakanowicz - the Polish artist of my docent presentation.
If you conclude the rushing I've been accusing myself of in the last few posts is true, I would have to agree.
All I can promise you is that since my error has given me intimate knowledge of both artists, I will share some tidbits about each of them with you. Next post you will learn whether Marina or Magdalena said, "Don't look away!" And you will also learn the shocking circumstances that made her say it.
Thank you for exploring the mystery with me - Nicky Mendenhall
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