Quotes from Marina Abramovic

You know, James Franco is one of the most interesting figures because he has no rules. He breaks all the borders.

I think 21st century should be art without objects.

I believe the artist has an obligation to society.

I face so much jealousy, and I am incredibly upset about it.

The only thing I have learned is to find strength in yourself. No one can help you, no one can do anything for you, you have to do the work yourself.

In real life, you just work for the ordinary self, but in the front of audience you become the superself. That's a completely different thing.

To be in a magazine when you're 20 is okay, but when you do it when you're 65, it's much more fun!

Aborigines are not just the oldest race in Australia; they are the oldest race on the planet. They look like dinosaurs.

It's very important that young artists push boundaries, because sometimes you have this urge to do something - like the impulsive and dangerous urges I had as a child - and if you don't follow through with it you might miss out on a developmental experience.

I'm interested in utopian communities of the past. Many of them didn't survive and I'm examining closely the reasons they failed.

My work is immaterial. It's not painting, it's not sculpture, it's emotions. I'm giving you something to experience yourself.

We, performers, work on willpower. This willpower works in a short term, not durational.

Artists should never think of themselves as an idol. Fame is a side effect of one's work.

When you have heartbreak, what's important is that you don't go halfway. Go all the way down. Don't take pills that keep you in limbo. Cry out all the feelings. Then your own energy for life will put you up again. You become stronger.

The big problem of our modern society is that we feel that we are separated from the nature. But it's just the opposite. We are interrelated and our DNA is the same. And only when human beings understand that, the nature will not be obstacle.

I grew up with my grandmother because my parents were making careers and didn't have much time for me. She was a highly religious Serbian Orthodox, spending most of her time in church. It's a great mix, and I use all these elements in my work.

I hate studio. For me, studio is a trap to overproduce and repeat yourself. It is a habit that leads to art pollution.

I realise the power of art that does not hang on the walls of galleries.

But what is art other than revealing human nature?

There's nothing more tragic than artists from the 70s still doing art from the 70s.

Immaterial art is the strongest because there's no obstacle; there's just energy, and I believe in energy.

Performance has to be mainstream art. This is what I'm fighting for.

Most artists create foundations where they put their own work. Here I'm not putting my own work. I'm just creating the chambers.

Documentation is misleading, because the performance is dead. So the very early works were not documented at all.