Just when this election couldn’t get any worse, America decides to drag the art world into it. Through the latest release of Wikileaks, Clinton advisor John Podesta’s brother (a prominent art collector) was found to have been invited by Marina Abromovic to a “Spirit Cooking dinner” at her home.
Multiple right-winged websites have been researching into Abromovic’s behaviors in the past, but in the past 48 hours they have been even more persistent than usual. Many people have found Abromovic’s performance piece from 1979, Pig’s Blood, and have been using that as “evidence” of her satanic tendencies.
If anyone knows contemporary art and performance, they could very easily claim bullshit on the right-wing, and far-fetched, claim that the Clinton administration and Marina Abromovic are involved in satanic rituals or beliefs. Honestly, at this point in the election it’s actually hilarious that an opponent would grasp at such straws because they have so little confidence in themselves and the message they hold for the American people.
“I’m outraged, because this is taken completely out of my context,” claims Abromivic. “Anybody who wants can read my memoirs and find out that [my work] is far away from Satanism,” she said. “My work is really more about spirituality and not anything else,” she continued. “I’ve been doing my work for so long, and this is a misunderstanding.” She said of the right-wing attacks, “It’s absolutely outrageous and ridiculous.”
All things considered, Abromovic and the Clinton administration have been keeping up a positive image and not letting the depressing satire of the situation get the best of them.