Tears

Update #2: That “one guy” I mention below is Paco Blancas. There’s a small interview of him on “Inside/Out,” MoMA’s blog.

Update #1: There is now a Tumblr blog dedicated to finding and showing those photographs of people crying “with” Abramović: Marina Abramović Made Me Cry. (via kottke)

MoMA has a Flickr page full of photographs of people sitting in front of Marina Abramović for her performance piece “The Artist is Present.” There are a few things one can notice: the occasional (art) celebrities, the predominantly white and asian composition of the audience, etc. One thing that surprised me was the number of people in tears.

Abramović (bottom right, in red) makes people weep.

Among those who wept in front of Abramović is one guy who appears 12 times—thus far … the show runs until May 31—and who seems particularly affected by the experience.

What Does Palinspeak Mean?

I don’t think Palin’s phraseology is actively attractive to her fans. Rather, what is remarkable is that this way of speaking doesn’t prevent someone, today, from public influence. Candidates bite the dust for being untelegenic, dour, philanderers, strident, or looking silly posing in a tank. But having trouble rubbing a noun and a verb together is not considered a mark against one as a figure of political authority.

John McWhorter, “What Does Palinspeak Mean?”
The New Republic, April 6, 2010