When recording this performance that she performed in Copenhagen, Abramović can be seen aggressively combing her hair. With a brush in one hand and a comb in the other, she runs them over her face and hair while repeating the phrase that gives the work its title (“art must be beautiful, the artist must be beautiful”). Her voice and gestures indicate pain, although at some point she seems to go into a trance.
Marina Abramović
Li-ma Foundation, Marina Abramovic Institute
LIMA