Rhythm 0: The Performance That Laid Bare the Darkest Corners of Human Nature
In the annals of modern art, few performances are as provocative, disturbing, and revealing as Marina Abramović’s Rhythm 0. Presented in 1974 at Studio Morra in Naples, Italy, this six-hour performance wasn’t just art — it was a social experiment, a psychological mirror, and a daring surrender of agency.
With her body as the canvas and the audience as the brush, Abramović posed a single haunting question:What will people do when they are given absolute power over another human being who cannot resist?
The answer, as the performance unfolded, was both illuminating and terrifying.
The Premise: Radical Vulnerability as Performance
At the start of Rhythm 0, Abramović stood passively in a gallery space beside a table containing 72 objects. Some were benign — a rose, feathers, a piec...