And we thought Marina Abramović’s recent staring contests at the MoMA were hardcore. Yesterday Japan-born, New York-based performers Eiko & Koma embarked on a month-long “living installation” at Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center called Naked. The piece involves them lying nude in a nest of straw and raven feathers, surrounded by two tons of dirt. With the exception of one 15-minute break per day, they’ll be on view to museum visitors six hours a day, six days a week through November 30th.
“It’s not at all provocative or profane,” according to Walker performing arts director Philip Bither. “It’s a very painterly experience that is, to me, very profound.” If this new work sounds familiar to you, Eiko & Koma did a similar month-long performance at the Whitney Museum back in 1998 entitled Breath after being awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant. [via National Post]