The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose

Thank you to Algonquin and NetGalley for an early review copy  which will publish November 27, 2018

Writing:5 Characters: 4.5 Plot: 4

A powerful and poignant novel about the transformational impact of Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present on those who witness it during the 75 days of performance at MOMA. Abramović’s sits in silence in a large room furnished only with a table and two chairs. Without speaking, she gazes into the eyes of those who choose to sit across from her. From museum opening until closing, Marina does not speak, move, eat, drink, or go to the bathroom. Expecting only modest participation, by the end of the 75 days people are lining up the night before to get a chance at participating. By the end, over 1500 people had sat and over 500,000 had observed either in person or online.

The book delves into the internal experiences of those who participate — either by sitting or by observing. The reflections on art, life, and meaning that emerge from the beings brought together by this piece are incredible, with fresh insights on every page. Abramović says her pieces are “establishing an energy dialog” and that she is “only interested in art that can change the ideology of society.” Some fascinating background on Abramović’s personal history and other pieces are included — I was half way through the book before I realized that this was a real artist and a real piece. Heather Rose has not fictionalized any real people or events but has instead built a story around the deep and transformative impact the piece had on those who bore witness. In some cases we get whole storylines, in others simply passing comments. It was brilliantly done.

Some of the longer storylines follow Arky Levin — a composer of film scores whose beloved wife is sinking into what may be the last stages of a long-term, eventually fatal, genetic condition; Jane Miller, a 54-year old middle school art teacher from the South who is grieving her recently deceased husband; Brittika Van Der Sar, a pink-haired Asian adoptee from the Netherlands writing her PhD on Abramović; and Healayas Breen, a tall and gorgeous media personality.

It brought me to tears many times — not through drama but because of the nakedness of the human experience portrayed as the art “captures moments at the heart of life.”