HappySpagetti
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“Marina Abramovic and Ulay started an intense love story in the 70s, performing art out of the van they lived in. When they felt the relationship had run its course, they decided to walk the Great Wall of China, each from one end, meeting for one last big hug in the middle and never seeing each other again. at her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing it and this is what happened.”
SoakInTheVoodooAir
Oh the feels. This one gets me every time...
arlenyd
This teared me up. I could feel it all through her eyes.
changedmyusernameforthis
I love posts like this on Imgur :)
Cantabria
Well, I have not seen it before, and I am grateful that I've had the chance to see it now. Thanks OP.
potatoqueen
JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS- This woman normally sits in silence, in absolute restraint, with hundreds of participants, until this moment
wangusangus
The context would have been useful prior to the GIF set. It was much better after I had read it and understood what I was seeing.
chandlersthirdnipple
Art is whatever you can get away with ~ Andy Warhol.
GirlFrogHybrid
if u don't know marina, look up "artist's manifesto". marina is a bomb bitch
Yourawfullyregularjaroftoasters
I WAS THERE.
TheKerfuffle
I Bet you cried like a little bitch. I know i did.
SDgoldilocks
Ahh... context.
marieblackrose
no she knew he was there he had visited the day before.
thefatlonelyjew
well that like completely kills the point, then
PadraigS
this gets posted every 3 months
Ninary
Ulay didnt arrive without her knowing it. They met up before the show.
electrohed
That smile she gives when she see it's him. I can only hope that I can get something like that from a girl one day.
missjuliaj
I just absolutely love this story.
FatBastardVegetarian
Epic as heck.
bigdaddychocolate
On a side note: James Franco sat down in front of her as well.
BennyJ89
I'm not familiar with the story behind these two, but their faces when seeing an old, close friend is absolutely wonderful.
BennyJ89
This brightened my evening! :)
Kopar
If I remember correctly, she was aware that he was coming.
Meooow
They experience the most raw emotions and it's so beautiful.
JosephGordonLevittsLeftSock
http://cdn.gifbay.com/2012/12/wave_of_feels-18739.gif
StamosatmyFuneral
Also, this was totally staged and they saw each other just before the performance. TMYK
Twenty3Skidoo
"Teenage Mutant Yakuza Killer"?
swaggersaurus
"The Artist is present" These people are the people who think the world revolves around them.
everyonesmom
Well they do make interesting art....... So.. What's up with the "people can't feel great even though they do great" attitude.
swaggersaurus
also this was staged, they met the day before. They are the epitome of attention whores.
ProbablyCantler
She does interactive performing art. The title relates to how she is literally there. It's a study of human interaction.
mintcranberry
"It's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. " +1000
mintcranberry
Y u downvote? This is my favourite quote ever :(
HappySpagetti
video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS0Tg0IjCp4
JustAnotherRidiculouslyLongUsername
It's been ten minutes and I am still crying. I forgot love like this existed. Thank you for this.
Nerdfightergirl
I wish it wasn't staged though :'"'( Found out from the comments below.... kind of ruined it for me
IronGirl
Love you love you love you thank you thank you thank you thank you
TheGoodTheBadAndTheDoctor
Taking Fine Arts, Marina is amazing. If you haven't seen the documentary you absolutely have to!
jinamuro
fuck, that's beautiful.
earthvexingovaries
wow. you can almost see her disappointment when she opens her eyes to the person after him. like she can't believe he's gone. beautiful.
YIKEA
so many feels
R1D2
testing my manliness right here. tearing up and stuff.
HowToBeard
My beard is full of tears!
trinistylz2002
Brother, you ain't the only one. The feels are TOO strong with this one. Especially if you've ever had a special lady in your life.
IReplyToMyOwnComments
It's more the lost love that gets to me.
TattoosMusicandColdBeer
Jesus, I started crying like an infant
JosephGordonLevittsLeftSock
Andy Idea what they said to each other?
HappySpagetti
i have no idea, sorry...
Letoxx
he said "hello love of my life" no idea what she said.
somebodythatyouusetoknow
Seeing his face and her reaction leads me to believe that only one of them wanted to break up.
arghnard
i love the lady at 1:00. "what?....no...too modern too modern..."
nolanbautista
LOL..saw that too. "This is too avanty-gardy"
plainoldfool
"I don't get it. I really don't get it..."
pencilv3ster
This is so beautiful. So beautiful.
shuttlecockinakumquat
The woman at 1:01-1:03 needs to be a gif. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS0Tg0IjCp4&t=61s
dookfook
this guy is going places.
catkyn
There's an ocean on my face and I can't breathe.
droppedmic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJA859mXMLg
plainoldfool
Part of me thinks this is feels inducing beautiful. Part of me thinks this is incredibly cruel. The plan was to never see each other again
IAmEpicWin
Op this is the most beautiful thing I've seen in imgur. Seriously, thanks.
MmeStraka
Meeting her here was a surprise, but they met the day before too, not the first time they saw each other since the Great Wall.
Mightbetheone
OMG It was bothering me to see the words up there, and so glad you corrected!
ReverendLovejoy
well that's lame
theoreticalhighfive
There is a documentary or something on her that I watched and he was there throughout and he stops by her home to see her every now and then
nothinbutcabbage
of course it was.
spoonymog
Regardless, this is still a beautiful image of two humans connecting.
Berethian
I thought it was earlier that day, but yeah. People like to act as if this was their first meeting. IMO it was staged.
ilovemozzarellasticks
It was staged. Someone posted this on fb,I called it out and got so much shit. I think I read he even helped set up the exhibit.
JessThe2ndBestt
I love mozzarella sticks too!
KorruptJustice
Damn, that takes a lot away from this to me.
Berethian
And of course I'm even copping some abuse on here for calling it out -_-
aschul10
To sit for a minute and stare into the eyes of someone you loved will still provoke emotions, even if they saw each other earlier.
kailurisu
Not all stories have to have facts, sometimes, the fiction is what gives us the beauty and the hope for such magical things.
elephantasybro
life is what we make of it guys <3
avidj
Wait - you mean someone who sits there and 'performs' "The Artist is Present" is a bullshitter? No...
MmeStraka
Her reaction is genuine; people are hyping it up to something more dramatic.
AerysIITargaryen
How do you know it's genuine? I don't mean to call her a liar but it's in her best interests to "put on a show".
fattymcelbows
. . . Has anyone else noticed that Reddit posts have disappeared from the front page?
malaroo
Annnd my reasons to browse Imgur have dropped by a good 90%
punner
Eh, atleast it means less of their reposts.
malaroo
And Imgur doesn't repost an absurd amount of content? Pretty much everything on the front page right now is a repost or some sobby story.
punner
See how much of it is from reddit.
malaroo
You do realize the thing we're commenting from, on Imgur, is a repost x1000 right?
BirdAndBearAndHareAndFish
I was wondering, it seemed most viral was mirroring user sub most popular...
fattymcelbows
It seems to have been a short-lived change.
punner
This is very good news.
fattymcelbows
Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Just most of today and yesterday.
punner
We can dream for a better tomorrow!
Berethian
Oh, this again. What they don't tell you is that they'd met up and talked together earlier that day, so this premise is wholly bullshit.
RadionicPsychotronic
Every premise you presume is wholely bullshit. This meeting as you see it certainly happened as is.
trusttherabbit
I remember reading that last time this was posted. Also, they're performance artists, so I assume it was staged.
AbrahamLinksys
[citation needed]
Berethian
You've got google, this isn't a fucking University paper. Go look for it if you care.
BigFatDan
Not all misinformation is bullshit. Sometimes people just get the wrong idea. Sometimes other people repeat it.
CareBearWarfare
Many thanks for the clarification
KlondikeBarForBreakfast
Fuck you I want to believe!
KorruptJustice
everyonesmom
Love is not as simple and cynical as your statement. Even though yours might be true.
Berethian
I just said it was bullshit based on the evidence. I never said love was bullshit. Do grow up.
everyonesmom
I did not state that I was not grown up, stop being mean.
StamosatmyFuneral
Pardon me for being cynical about a couple who needs people who cry for them and their love which isn't meant to be. Plus, it's true.
everyonesmom
I didn'
everyonesmom
Sorry. I didn't say it wasn't true, I just said there's more to love than this image of it....
JacobIsaac
Source of them organising this?
Berethian
I do suspect this was BS, though.
rachiechilipepper
God. I read this as "source of them orgasming after this"
Berethian
Oh I don't know if this was organised, but the idea that they hadn't met in decades is false.
trusttherabbit
This movie: http://marinafilm.com is where the .gifs are from and shows the full story of them meeting up before.
JacobIsaac
NOOO I WANTED TO BELIEVE meh it's still fucking awesome anyway.
DsanDK
We've seen this before, it's a good story but I'm not sure what we can use it for.. It's beautiful.
BigFatDan
As good a definition of "art" as any I've seen.
TheCanadianBeaver
Its use is as a good story, we all need to be reminded of the beauty of life sometimes :)
1999eclipse
well, that statement can describe most art, right?
SweetZombiJesus
I am not sure this qualifies as art. More akin to a psychology experiment.
chimpmcghoul
The idea that you can't use it for anything makes it infinitely more valuable.
ApartheidClyde
Why is it beautiful? They stopped loving each other years ago and amicably broke up. This is like running into an old friend. 1/2
ApartheidClyde
The backstory kills any meaning in the display. Maybe I am just not good at these human emotions. 2/2
LastNightIThoughtItWasAGoodIdea
You are not.
ApartheidClyde
So do they love each other? The story tells us they do not. They agreed to split and met shortly before this. What am I missing?
AerysIITargaryen
Nothing, it's just two ex lovers who split up but don't have any hard feelings. Nothing beautiful here.
MoonbyulBias
Ummm... continue?
ApartheidClyde
It's called art. My comment is incomplete, symbolizing the lingering confusion that I feel.
MoonbyulBias
That was deep.
kriebzz
I want to know what happened after I hope he just walked straight out of her life again
kungfuskunk
Somewhere else, the other option played out.
Widget88
I'd hate to be the person to follow him.
droppedmic
I look above me and I see two types of people.
IJustWantToSetMyBoobsFree
A few years ago I would have wanted them to stay together, but now I'm glad he never saw her again. Better to let good things end as such.
droppedmic
I give my utmost respect to Marina for not chasing after him. She stayed true to her craft and maintained her performance.
nobodyknowsimadog
No :(
mah2013
he did
arghnard
dick
ThatCookieGuy
I disagree. I find this epic-ly romantic, just not in the common sense.
sbbl314159
How?
catsonmeth
By acknowledging that she was a huge part of his life and showing that they still have an impact on each other.
TheCanadianBeaver
I like to think he waited on the steps of the art gallery and they walked away holding hands *sobs*
mindyourpeepers
You belong to a club called hopeless romantics, welcome brother/sister
vladluckas
sorry bro but platonic love, the way they have it is better than 95% of your (and all of us) relationships they love each other (1/2)
vladluckas
(2/2)they will always see each other in a place called memory and that my friend. that makes it epic (sorry for grammar not native laguage)
mindyourpeepers
That's so true and makes their love story even more beautiful. You did very well. May I ask what your native tongue is?
missdebonair0328
One of us...One of us!
TheCanadianBeaver
Actually I am exceedingly practical, but I do have my moments :) And they are lovely!
mindyourpeepers
Don't we all? Sometimes it's nice to succumb to a world of make believe
meowzerus
We dance to the style of "crying on each other's shoulders".
artistunknown
From this moment on, you will be known as Sharkbait
TheCanadianBeaver
OO HA HA!
artistunknown
Welcome, brother Sharkbait!
KorruptJustice
I'm in the cynical romantic club, myself. It's where you believe that true love/soul mates exist, but are pretty much impossible to find.
mindyourpeepers
That's the premium membership.
libbyful
This. This describes me perfectly.