In a special collaboration with adidas and SHOWstudio, performance artist Marina Abramovic restaged her 1978 piece Work Relation for the first time ever, reimagining the performance so that it related to the 2014 World Cup.
According to the description for the YouTube video, the piece was first performed by Abramovic and her partner Ulay at the Theatre ann Rijn in the Netherlands. As with the original, the performers transport stones from one end of the room to the other, using "teamwork, discipline and perseverance" to accomplish the goal, not unlike the members of a soccer team. The number of performers in the restaged piece has been increased to eleven to also match that of a standard soccer team.
In a quote to Designboom, Abramovic said that "one similarity between performance and sport that I wanted to highlight in this video is the importance of group collaboration... When Ulay and I originally performed the piece Work Relation in 1978, the power of collective strength came through in the performance. I believe that it is important to learn from other disciplines in order to bring new life to whatever it is that you do. this is something at the heart of my institute, MAI, and something that I felt was important to convey in this video, which was itself a collaborative project."
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[via Designboom]
