Some art invites you to look. Marina Abramović invited people to act. Then she learned how quickly “acting” can turn cruel.
Back in 1974, she staged Rhythm 0. She stood still for six hours. She placed 72 objects on a table, including a gun and one bullet.
At first, the crowd played nice. Then, little by little, it escalated. People tested boundaries because she didn’t stop them.
That’s the problem with “anything goes.” It rewards the boldest person in the room. And it can pull everyone else along.
Abramović later said she felt “ready to die” for the work. She also realized something chilling. If you remove consequences, strangers might go further than you expect.
One rule changed everything
Years later, she tried again with The Artist Is Present. She still used stillness and endurance. However, she added one rule that mattered.
No touching. No talking. Just sitting across from her and holding eye contact.
That single limit flipped the mood. Instead of chaos, people met themselves in the silence. Many cried without understanding why.
Abramović didn’t soften her art. She focused it.
And that’s the takeaway, even outside galleries. Freedom without boundaries can turn ugly fast. Meanwhile, one clear rule can turn a spectacle into something human.