March 21, 2026
From MoMA to meltdown in the comments
The Story of Marina Abramovic and Ulay (2020)
Fans mourn Ulay while comments roast Marina and revive “spirit cooking”
TLDR: A tribute to Marina Abramović and late partner Ulay reignited a fiery split: admirers praised their boundary-pushing performances while critics called it cringe and resurfaced “spirit cooking” chatter. One reader recommended her memoir, underscoring how performance art still polarizes—and how internet lore can overshadow an artist’s legacy.
A heartfelt tribute to Marina Abramović and her late partner Ulay—covering the bruising body-slams of Relation in Space, the hair-tied endurance of Relation in Time, and MoMA’s stare-down in The Artist Is Present—turned into a comment-section performance piece of its own. The community didn’t just react; it collided, hard.
One Balkan reader joked that even the letter “ć” became a battle, a familiar font fail that stole the spotlight. Another turned Abramović into a dating filter, bragging they’ve used “reverence for Marina” to weed out incompatible people for years—peak art-world gatekeeping energy. Then came the wildfire: a commenter dragged up the 2016 email saga to ask if she’s the “spirit cooking” lady, reigniting a decade-old meme about a 1990s performance phrase that’s become an internet Rorschach test. On the harsher side, a critic called her “cringey,” pointing at the infamous piece where she let the audience use objects on her—proof to them that endurance art is just shock value.
Balancing the flame-throwing, a calmer voice dropped homework: Walk Through Walls, Abramović’s memoir, “easy, personal & entertaining.” Verdict? Fans mourn Ulay and salute the duo’s intensity; skeptics dismiss the bruises as gimmicks. Either way, the comment section just staged its own live art—no museum required.
Key Points
- •The article is a tribute to Marina Abramović and Ulay’s partnership following Ulay’s death at age 76.
- •Abramović studied in Belgrade and Croatia, later teaching at the Academy at Novi Sad while developing early solo performances.
- •Ulay (Frank Uwe Laysiepen), from Solingen, Germany, moved to Amsterdam in the early 1970s and created gender-focused Polaroid collages.
- •They met in 1976, formed a collaborative entity called “The Other,” and pursued works exploring ego, identity, and trust.
- •Notable collaborations include “In Relation in Space” (1976), “Relation in Movement” (1977), and “Relation in Time” (1977); Abramović’s 2010 MoMA performance is also referenced.