Marina Abramović's "Seven Easy Pieces": Critical Documentation Strategies for Preserving Art's History

This essay raises issues of authenticity, authorship and medium in a discussion of performance, documentation and re-performance. Its object of analysis is Marina Abramović's 2005 performance series, "Seven Easy Pieces," including her re-performances of Bruce Nauman's "Body Pressure" and VALIE EXPORT's "Action Pants: Genital Panic." "Seven Easy Pieces" strives to document the past through manipulation of repetition and temporality; Abramović's re-performances act as performative documents of the past performances she cites. Lessons learned from a close analysis of re-performance and performance documentation can provide useful insights for and promote critical thought about conservation strategies for time-based art.