As Abramović described it later: "What I learned was that ... if you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you ... I felt really violated: they cut up my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the audience. Everyone ran away, to escape an actual confrontation."
I swear so many people are actual psychopaths and just good at hiding it.
What would you even do? If I saw this as an advertised event, I wouldn't go. Neither participating or spectating sounds very interesting. Only psychopaths are going to show up.
This sums it up for me. An invitation can be open to everyone, but the activity they're being invited to will determine what sort of people show up. When I read, "Come and do whatever you like to an unresisting human who will sit still for six hours," I immediately turn away--not just because I'm not interested in "doing whatever I like" to a person, but because I don't want to be in a room with the crowd of people that I imagine would want to do whatever they like to a person.
The British have something similar at Buckingham palace. Theirs these guards that just stand around being motionless as possible which attracts people who want to do funny shit to them. They attempt funny shit and get arrested
We already have systems in place to funnel ask the sociopaths into positions where they can be monitored by everyone. It's called capitalism and politics.
It was real and loaded. The actor was commited to any outcome including being murdered on stage.
The audience first tested the waters and gradually escalated to more extreme forms of violence. When the violence started the audience factionalized into those who were committed to stopping her from being shot, arguing and shaming aggressors or physically stepping in.
While I don't know if I can condone the piece ethically it certainly says more about human nature than most art pieces.