Charlotte Appleyard
The Artist is Present
Walk through Walls: A Memoir
By Marina Abramović with James Kaplan
Fig Tree 370pp £20 order from our bookshop
Performance art isn’t typically something we consider very funny, at least not intentionally. More often it evokes images of wan-faced waifs in unitards, attempting to describe the agonies of the human experience through mime. Marina Abramović uses performance art to tackle the big themes of life and death, forcing us to question the nature of art and what it is to be alive. So you’d be forgiven for being surprised that she’s also extremely funny.
The origins of performance art can be traced to the early 20th century through the work of various groups, such as the Futurists and the Dadaists. Precise description is tricky given the diversity of performers, but it is often defined in antithesis to theatre or gallery-based art. Abramović
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'It is the ... sketches of the local and the overlooked that lend this book its density and drive, and emphasise Britain’s mostly low-key riches – if only you can be bothered to buy an anorak and seek.'
Jonathan Meades on the beauty of brutalism.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/castles-of-concrete
'Cruickshank’s history reveals an extraordinary eclecticism of architectural styles and buildings, from Dutch Revivalism to Arts and Crafts experimentation, from Georgian terraces to Victorian mansion blocks.'
William Boyd on the architecture of Chelsea.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/where-george-eliot-meets-mick-jagger
'The eight years he has spent in solitary confinement have had a devastating impact on his mental health ... human rights organisations believe his detention is punishment for his critical views.'
@lucyjpop on the Egyptian activist and poet Ahmed Douma.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/ahmed-douma