Breathing In/Breathing Out 1977

In Marina Abramović’s performance piece, "Breathing In/Breathing Out," the artists are conjoined by the mouth, breathing each other’s breath. I imagine they are kneeling there, feeling a kind of claustrophobia. This image reminds me of a time when I was trying to create an experimental documentary. There was so much anxiety, so much uncertainty about how it would come together. I can see Abramović grappling with a similar unease, trying to work through the messy, ambiguous nature of performance. The black and white of the photograph intensifies the feeling of starkness, making you feel the lack of air as the two performers exchange breath. It makes me think of artists who embrace risk and failure as part of their process. Performance is so much about living in the moment of what you don't know. It’s about opening yourself up to possibilities, whether those possibilities lead to success or failure. It’s something all artists are in conversation with.