Marina Abramović Brings Bed Performance to Golden Globes Pre-Party

Marina Abramovic poses with Usher. Photo: Getty

At most Hollywood award shows, the intricate designs on the lacquered fingernails of female celebrities are the closest thing to art you’ll find. But this year, the Art of Elysium, a charity organization that brings art to children battling medical conditions, held a star-studded Golden Globes pre-party on January 10 that shattered the bland award-show stereotype.

Marina Abramović teamed up with Costume National (see Marina Abramović Collaborates with Costume National) on an evening of experiential art pieces inspired by the notion of “heaven.” Guests donned silk robes and were invited to hang out in beds with tray tables as opposed to the traditionally numbered tables. Sound familiar? Abramović staged a similar (although decidedly less glamorous) bed performance this year at Art Basel in Miami Beach (see Art Basel in Miami Beach is a Rip-Roaring Success).

Costume National models. Photo: Getty

Costume National models.
Photo: Getty

“Usually these parties are always boring, always the same,”Abramović told Style.com “[I had] this idea to try to come at it from a different way, [with everyone] dressed in pajamas or in beds, so that everyone is equal…There are so many ways of entertaining, [but] I am proposing in my way as an artist the possibility of entertaining that’s never been used before.”

The event took place at Hangar 8 inside the Santa Monica Airport, and included a “silent disco” courtesy of Samsung, a fashion show with looks from Costume National’s pre-fall 2015 collection, and a 3-D film and performance by musician-turned-artist Moby (see Moby’s Photographs Envision the World’s First Post-Apocalyptic Cult).

The LA Times reports that many of the celebrity guests had a hard time remaining quiet during the silent disco and had to be admonished by Abramović. Jokingly, of course. Or was it?…

The guest list boasted Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Usher, Tobey Maguire, Joaquin Phoenix, Zach Braff, Cara Delevingne, and Laura Prepon. We can’t help but wonder how this Hollywood set enjoyed the zany dinner-in-bed concept.


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.
Article topics