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ejhill.tumblr took part in the annual Gala organised by Marina Abramović at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, in November 2011:
“For a total of about four hours, I was the most powerful person at my table. I watched as the wealthiest people I’ve never met, reluctantly took seats around me. First, their faces showed signs of stunned disbelief as they entered the space. Second, the awkward laughs and iPhone photos came, then it was confused and forced smiles as they sat down. Finally, came the extreme discomfort from the reality of the situation—they would actually have to eat in front of us. But interestingly enough, in a very rare and beautiful moment, the power dynamics that have existed for hundreds of years between artists and the wealthy had been reversed. The performance lasted only a few hours, but during those few hours, from a seemingly degraded position, I silently dictated an entire conversation. I was able to halt people mid-sentence by slowly turning and locking in on any one of the individuals at my table. They fumbled with their forks, stuttered on words and took out their phones to read invisible text messages. They employed all sorts of techniques to distract themselves in order to ease the tension. Periodically, someone would shake their head in contempt and frustration. Some only ate while I was turned away from them while others got up and left the table entirely.” Read more here
