The first time I visited New York I saw a woman get punched (in the face) by a man. It was a full swing, knocking her off her feet.  We were driving through traffic in TriBeCa and I begged to go back. I wanted to claw his eyes out and kick him where it hurts! I was shocked.

My second time in NYC was work related. I was sleeping when a friend of mine called and threatened to kill himself.  Sharing a hotel room with my co-worker, I tucked away in the bathroom telling him how much I loved him and repeating every Lifetime channel quote I could think of.  My efforts were successful but I was disturbed by the incident nonetheless.

Now. Back in the Big Apple for the third time where I found myself, yet again, picking my jaw off the floor. I attended Marina Abramovic's exhibit The Artist is Present at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The exhibit included re-enactments and displays from her past performance art pieces. This included:

-Two naked people facing each other and touching only with their index fingers.

-A video of Marina screaming for hours until exhausted.

-Objects from an exhibit where guests chose what they used on Marina while she sat completely still in her chair. Among these objects----> a loaded revolver that someone put to the back of her head.

-A model of the art gallery where Marina stayed for 12 days without eating. (Remember when Carrie meets Petrovsky for the first time in "Sex and the City"? Yeah, that's the scene.)

-A MoMA doorway guarded by two completely naked people-forcing guests to squeeze through in order to pass.

-A naked woman mounted on a wall with a bicycle seat holding her up. Think crucifix a la Schwinn.

The main part of the exhibit was Marina engaged in a staring contest with a MoMA visitor. This seemed relatively tame compared to her other solo pieces----one of which included encasing herself and masturbating in front of guests for eight hours.

Shocked? Disturbed?

OR

Intrigued? I must admit...I was oddly enthralled.

Here's MoMA's link about Marina Abramovic: click here.