Marina Abramović: Singing Lesson | "Exclusive" | Art21

[Marina Abramović: Singing Lesson]

You know, I have lots of issues as a child,

and lots of fears.

I was incredibly self-conscious.

[ABRAMOVIC] Are you rolling?

[MAN, OFF-CAMERA] I am rolling.

[ABRAMOVIC] Okay, baby, so...

[NORA YORK] So, what I want you to do...

[ABRAMOVIC, OFF CAMERA] So when the moment I was dealing with performance

I really wanted to actually overcome my fears,

number one. And number two,

push my physical limits as far as I can go,

you know, to see that you have this power

of the mind over the body.

[Nora York: Vocal Coach]

[YORK] For singing,

you breathe to the bottom of the lung in the back.

[ABRAMOVIC] Okay.

[YORK] So you breathe...

Now, instead of being up in the chest,

see if you can breathe below.

So you're going to go...

[BOTH INHALING AND EXHALING]

[YORK] Yes, good!

[ABRAMOVIC] Now, I'm with Bob Wilson

on the theater piece called

"Life and Death of Marina Abramović".

And he is re-editing--

putting my life together in the way he sees it.

When I do my performances, I'm in complete control.

But when I come to life, I like to give up control.

And giving up control is one of the hardest things an artist can do

in his lifetime.

[YORK] When you breathe to sing,

the ribs swing wide and you want to feel...

[ABRAMOVIC, OFF CAMERA] I really love to listen to people singing,

and I was always jealous of that kind of talent

somebody could have--to sing.

It's like, you can open your heart

and sing your soul out.

I could not.

[YORK] Because you're built to sing!

You've got the cheekbones...

[ABRAMOVIC, SINGING "LA VIE EN ROSE"]

♪ "Quand il me prend dans te bras" ♪

[YORK] Oui! Oui! Oui! Oui!

[ABRAMOVIC] ♪ "Je vois tout bas..." ♪

[YORK] Ah, oui!

[YORK] So just say "salt"...

[ABRAMOVIC] "Salt..."

[YORK] So, sing on the vowel...

[ABRAMOVIC, HOLDING THE VOWEL] "Salt."

[YORK] Now, tip of the tongue,

touching the teeth.

[BOTH, SIMULTANEOUSLY] "Salt."

[ABRAMOVIC] When I was really young,

I have to have the piano lessons,

and I remember...I hate piano lessons so terribly.

I remember the teacher coming to the house

for an entire year,

and after one year,

the teacher came to my mother and said,

"I'm just taking money for nothing."

"She doesn't have it, and she will never got it."

"She can't have the ear for music."

[YORK] ...the sound more forward.

[ABRAMOVIC, HOLDING THE VOWEL] "Salt."

[YORK] Right.

[ABRAMOVIC] So, I took this as a complete,

definite kind of statement,

and I never wanted to sing

or think that I will ever sing.

[ABRAMOVIC] ♪ "Salt..."

"Salt in my wounds."

"To dull more pedestrian pain."

"To sting transcendentally." ♪

[YORK] Can I play the Antony version?

[ABRAMOVIC] Yes.

[YORK] And we can sing with it?

[ABRAMOVIC] Antony Hegarty is making the music for it,

so he created nine songs.

[MUSIC PLAYS THROUGH SPEAKERS]

[ABRAMOVIC, SINGING ALONG] ♪ "Salt in my wounds."

"To dull more pedestrian pain." ♪

[ABRAMOVIC, OFF CAMERA] The one which Antony made for me,

and is really made for my kind of state of mind,

and is inspired by my work,

is called "Salt in My Wounds"...

So, he decided--Bob--that I had to sing that

and I was completely paranoid.

I said, "But I can't sing. I can't sing."

[YORK] Try this, if you were to go... [HISSING SOUND]

[ABRAMOVIC, OFF CAMERA] Antony was saying to me,

"Just do it like Marlene Dietrich."

I said, "Yes, like Marlene Dietrich on the bad day!" [LAUGHS]

[HISSING SOUND]

[ABRAMOVIC, OFF CAMERA] And then I really took it serious,

I'm thinking, "Okay,"

"at least try to have some singing lessons,"

"to see if I could really do it."

[YORK] ♪ "To dull..." ♪

[BOTH] ♪ "To dull..." ♪

[ABRAMOVIC] It's all about breathing,

and so many things...

But, I'm still very insecure,

and I hope that it is going to work.

So that's where I am now.

[ABRAMOVIC] ♪ "Salt"

"Salt in my wounds"

"To dull pedestrian pain." ♪