SANTI VILLANUEVA
Who are you?
What happens when people are given complete freedom with no consequences?
In 1974, Marina Abramović performed a piece called “Rhythm 0” where she stood still for 6 hours. The instructions for the audience were simple: to do whatever they wished to Marina using 72 objects she had carefully selected and neatly placed on a table. The objects ranged from a rose, honey and wine to a whip, a gun, and a bullet.
Photography: Jason Wyche, New York. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York
The performance started in a playful, curious, and even caring manner with people just admiring Marina by giving her a rose and kissing her. But halfway through the performance, the audience became more and more aggressive, and started cutting Marina’s clothes. Someone used the same blades to slash her throat and drank her blood. Others carried her around half-naked, violating her body and her trust. At one point, someone loaded the gun, put it against Marina’s head and began wrapping her own finger around the trigger.
After the 6 hours were up, Marina returned to herself, stood up, and began walking towards the audience. Many of the audience members fled the space — unable to confront Marina’s humanity.
From “Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present” catalogue for the Museum of Modern Art.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to have a more optimistic outlook on human nature. I believe humans are fundamentally good. This belief likely stems from a place of idealism or survival rather than true wisdom and understanding. I’m not sure if I could enjoy my life to the degree I do if I believed humans are, by nature, evil. That’d be a hard life to bear. It’s as if I blind myself to our insanity to keep mine. I willfully ignore our natural tendencies towards chaos and destruction to give my life some order and meaning. But performances (and experiments) like “Rhythm 0” are humbling reality checks and powerful reminders of the natural laws of the universe, and, by extension, humanity.
The second law of thermodynamics states that the state of entropy of the entire universe, as an isolated system, will always increase over time. In other words, if left unchecked, natural systems will always have a tendency to move from order to chaos. “Rhythm 0” began in a state of relative order — objects neatly arranged on a table, Marina standing motionless, and social norms still largely intact. As time went on and social constraints broke down, the performance began to fall into chaos, unpredictability, and despair.
The performance ultimately demonstrates that human systems, like physical ones, if left unchecked by boundaries, laws, and norms, naturally tend toward disorder, which begs the question: are laws and other social constraints the only things keeping us from destroying each other?
It’s complicated, but the short answer is no.
While some participants did become increasingly aggressive when constraints were removed, many others tried to protect her. Two groups naturally emerged as the performance went on — aggressors and protectors. Apparently, a fight broke out between the two groups once the loaded gun was introduced.
“Rhythm 0” doesn’t provide simple answers about whether humans are fundamentally good or evil, but it provides powerful insights into the complex interplay of social context, individual psychology, and group dynamics that shape our actions. It suggests that while most people aren’t naturally inclined toward extreme violence, the right conditions can weaken inhibitions against harmful behavior.
So, who are you?
The answer is quite simple.
You are what you do when nobody’s watching.