Horrified artist was 'ready to die' after allowing spectators to do anything they wanted for six hours

Warning: This article contains graphic content which some readers may find distressing.

When performance artist Marina Abramović embarked on an experiment back 1974 - which allowed spectators to do 'whatever they wanted' to her without repercussion - she never expected to endure such a harrowing ordeal.

In the hope of investigating the extent of human behaviour and crowd mentality in circumstances where punishment was not an option, the Serbian artist put on a captivating display at a gallery in Naples, standing still for six hours straight.

She instructed spectators to observe the 72 items which had been placed on a table beside her and use them upon her in any way they wish.

"There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as desired," an accompanying note read. "Performance. I am the object... During this period I take full responsibility."

Among the plethora of items up for grabs were a rose, feather, perfume, honey, bread, grapes, wine, scissors, a scalpel, nails, a metal bar, a gun and a bullet.

During the initial stages of the experiment, spectators were visibly hesitant, seemingly baffled as to how far they were permitted to go.

The first few hours were littered with passersby, adorning her with the flowers she'd laid out for them and planting kisses on her cheek.

Art critic Thomas McEvilley, who was present the entire time, later told press what he saw that day.

In a performance in 1974, Marina Abramović told visitors she wouldn't move for six hours, whatever they did to her. She made 72 items available on a table on her side that could be used to please or destroy her, She invited visitors to use the items on it as they wish.… pic.twitter.com/Puvgx27oJu

— Creepy.org (@creepydotorg) May 8, 2024

"It began tamely," he recalled. "Someone turned her around. Someone thrust her arms into the air. Someone touched her somewhat intimately. The Neapolitan night began to heat up."

After three hours, however, the atmosphere within the gallery shifted entirely and the experiment descended into a whirlwind of abuse.

While one spectator used a razor blade from the display to cut her clothes from her body until she stood nude, another allegedly used the same instrument to cut her skin.

McEvilley recalled: "Her throat was slashed so someone could suck her blood. Various minor sexual assaults were carried out on her body. She was so committed to the piece that she would not have resisted rape or murder."

Among the other horrific things inflicted upon the artist was that a knife was placed dangerously between her legs, while a gun was thrust to her head, with her own finger being placed on the trigger.

Others, however, wiped her tears and protected her, with some even fighting some of the most 'dangerous' members of the crowd.

Throughout the entire ordeal, however, Marina remained straight-faced and refused to give in to her fear.

Following the experiment, she opened up about the lessons it had taught her about human behaviour, and admitted she was prepared to sacrifice her life for the sake of knowledge.

Speaking in a video shared on the Marina Abramović Institute YouTube channel in 2016, she recalled: "I start moving. I start being myself [...] and, at that moment, everybody ran away. People could not actually confront with me as a person.

"The experience I drew from this piece was that in your own performances you can go very far, but if you leave decisions to the public, you can be killed."

And according to The Guardian, Marina said: "I was ready to die."