MARCO ANELLI
PORTRAITS IN THE PRESENCE OF MARINA ABRAMOVIC´
Marco Anelli Portrait by Nate Lowman New York, 2012
Marco Anelli Marco Anelli was born in Rome in 1968. After specializing in black and white photography and its printing techniques in Paris, he developed what has become a signature aspect of his work: photographic projects that evolve over long periods of time, through an extended engagement with his subject. His publications include works on sculpture and architecture (‘Shadow and Light in St. Peter’s’, 1999; ‘All’ Ombra del Duomo’, 2011) sport (‘Il Calcio’, 2002; ‘Pallacorda’, 2004) and classical music (‘La Musica Immaginata’, 2004; ‘The Gestures of the Spirit’, 2011). He is currently working on two long term projects in New York, one exploring the artist’s studio, and the other focusing on the emotional reactions of the public in soccer, football and baseball stadiums.
After becoming an internet sensation, Marco Anelli’s powerful portraits of sitters in the historic 2010 Marina Abramovic performance at the Museum of Modern Art, New York are now collected and available in their entirety in this volume. The centerpiece of the landmark retrospective Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present was Abramovic herself, who sat silently in the museum’s atrium, inviting visitors to take a seat across from her for as long as they chose. She sat every day for the run of the show - 716 hours and 30 minutes - and faced more than, 1.500 people, whose participation completed the work. Marco Anelli, who was present for as long as the artist, captured every interaction, taking a portrait of each participant and noting the time they spent in the chair. The photographs put a face to the world of art lovers while capturing what they shared during their contact with the artist.