Art as spirituality: The paradigmatic case of Marina Abramović

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to illustrate through an empirical case how art in a secular age can function as a spiritual-but-non-religious (SBNR) environment for both artists and art followers. It examines contemporary performance artist Marina Abramović as an example of a post-modern spiritual figure, rooted in the artworld. Her relevance for a secular age is as a contemporary artist who has developed her own brand of art-based spirituality with no theological nor religious content whatsoever. Although nonreligious, she does not conform to a materialistic worldview. She holds many so-called ‘New Age’ beliefs which place her among the growing SBNR demographic. She has developed her own ‘spiritual’ method to teach people beyond the ‘elitist’ artworld, and has created the immaterial Marina Abramović Institute (MAI) to carry on her legacy. Arguably, therefore, she has effectively transformed herself into a ‘spiritual’ teacher. Drawing on Denita Benyshek’s construct of artist-shaman, scientific explanations about the relieving of pain, and Victor Turner’s concept of spontaneous communitas, the article concludes that Abramović is a nonreligious spiritual charismatic figure who is generating countercultural communitas through her performances, her institute and her teachings, providing an empirical demonstration that art can indeed function as a spiritual but not religious context.