exploring the mystery featured performance artist Marina Abramovic on November 30, 2014. Marina, you might recall, sat silently across from people staring into their eyes. In that post, I asked:
Does an artist’s work explain the artist’s life?
Now, six months later, one issue of a weekly blog, Brain Pickings, introduced to me by Becky Goldin two years ago, highlighted Marina’s contribution to Getting There: A Book of Mentors.
See if you think Marina’s words speak to the question I posed in November:
“My parents were both partisans and national heroes. They were very hard-core and were so busy with their careers that I lived with my grandmother until I was six. Until then, I hardly even knew who my parents were. They were just two strange people who would visit on Saturdays and bring presents.
When I was six, my brother was born, and I was sent back to my parents. From that point on, my childhood was very unhappy. I grew up with incredible control, discipline, and violence at home. Everything was extreme.
My mother never kissed me. When I asked why, she said, “Not to spoil you, of course.” She had a bacteria phobia so she didn’t allow me to play with other children out of fear that I might catch a disease. She even washed bananas with detergent.
I spent most of my time alone in my room. There were many, many rules. Everything had to be in perfect order. If I slept messily in bed, my mother would wake me in the middle of the night and order me to sleep straight.”
Her words also speak to our study of attachment styles!
Let me know what you think!
Thanks for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall