Latest news with #MoMa
Graziadaily
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
Marina Abramović: ‘The Secret To Life? Don't Compromise.'
As far as aphorisms go, 'never meet your heroes' tends to hold up. Until it doesn't. Enter Marina Abramović, the godmother of performance art. She's in New York. I'm in London. Zoom, naturally. What does one expect from a woman who once invited strangers in an art gallery to point weapons at her, walked the Great Wall of China to put a symbolic end to her relationship and, decades later, turned a silent stare into the most talked-about installation at the MoMa during her performance of The Artist Is Present? Marina Abramovic during her 2010 performance "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present" at The Museum of Modern Art. ©Getty When the Zoom screen blinks to life, there she is: severe and still, in a crimson Yohji Yamamoto top – not unlike the gown she wore for her MoMa piece. For a moment, silence. Then, abruptly: 'So, ask me questions, then I answer, and then we go,' she declares, voice clipped. So far, so Abramović. 'My life is insane,' she tells me. 'I think the planet is speeding up, and I really try to cope, because it's more work than I ever had in my entire life.' Is she enjoying the madness? 'That's not even a question. It's my duty. I really take work seriously. I never had children, I just wanted to be an artist. And now I have more opportunities than I ever got before. I have no time off until 2028.' Next year, Abramović turns 80. You wouldn't know it. Born in the former communist Yugoslavia (now Serbia) to politically active parents (they were partisans during WWII; she's often described her upbringing as emotionally arid) she's outpaced nearly every one of her peers. 'You relax when you die,' she laughs. 'My generation stopped working at 60 already. Nobody's doing anything. But the idea of pension never crosses my mind. I really think that work is something that we humans should do until the last breath. Yes, your body is getting older but this is something that you have to get used to. And you're going to get old, too, my dear,' she says, suddenly matriarchal. 'At 30, you don't think about dying and, until I turned 70, it never crossed my mind. But turning 80 next year, it's a big deal. This is the last stage in your life.' Is she afraid of the inevitable? 'Of course, who isn't scared to die? Anyone who says they're not is lying. Every time there's turbulence on the plane, I write my testament. But it's something you have to deal with. The more you accept the idea of impermanence, the more enjoyable every day of your life becomes. How can you confront your fear, and how can you make it meaningful?' Speaking to Abramović is like watching centre court at Wimbledon: ideas volley from left to right with impossible agility, bouncing between the philosophical and hilariously blunt, but never deadly serious. The laughs are myriad, as are her nuggets of wisdom. 'There are three Marinas. One who is heroic and likes to go for danger. The second is highly spiritual. The third loves fashion, chocolate and bullshit.' It's this trifecta that helps Abramović to not just stay relevant, but shapeshift with the cultural moment. It's why she can stage a sell-out opera one minute and launch a high concept NFT (a non-fungible token, or digital asset) drop the next, as she has done in partnership with the curated digital art marketplace Taex. Called the MAE Project, the aim is to bring her art to a new generation. 'I've always been interested in how I can apply the limits of my body to new technology, but I'm also interested in how I can connect with the younger audience,' she says. Marina Abramovic during her opera performance "7 Deaths of Maria Callas" wearing Burberry. ©Getty 'Kids are really technological. And the way to get to them is to use the same technology they're using. We've lost control of our life because of how addictive technology is. It was invented to give us more time, but we don't know what to do with it. So it's a war for me to introduce kids to silence and meditation.' Marina's Avatar from The MAE Project ©The MAE Project / Marina Abramović / Taex Does she know she's a social media muse meme, reference point, cultural shorthand? She waives it off. 'I don't have Instagram, I don't look at social media. I can hardly cope with my emails.' Still, when I show her Lorde's new album cover – rumoured on the internet to echo Abramović's infamous MoMa performance – she says, 'Wow. I didn't see that. Nobody showed me. It's pretty identical.' Is she flattered? 'Art is there to be referenced, to be used. Art is for everybody. I'm very democratic about that.' Marina Abramović and Lady Gaga, 2013 ©Gett In this, too, she's defied the stereotype of the tortured artist, wary of the mainstream. She's front row at fashion week, collaborates with Lady Gaga and delivers TED Talks, appears on Bella Freud's Fashion Neurosis podcast and attends the Met Gala. 'In the '70s, artists who loved fashion were said to be shitty, lousy artists. But when I sold my work to Pompidou for the first time, I went to the Yamamoto shop and bought a suit and blouse… I said, 'Yes! Fuck that. I'm an OK artist. If I like fashion, what's the problem?'' Her opera costumes were Burberry, last year she was the face of Massimo Dutti, and the wardrobe for her next project is made by fellow Serbian-born, London-based designer Roksanda Ilinčić. So, what is her secret to dealing with everything life throws her way? 'I don't give a shit. I suffered so much, been put through so much emotional bullshit and lost time to nonsense. I don't do that any more, this comes from wisdom and with age. The secret is simple: really love what you're doing. Don't compromise. Have radical new ideas, good food, lots of humour, and good sex.' The MAE NFT's are minted on the ethereum blockchain via the platform Henrik Lischke is the senior fashion features editor at Grazia. Prior to that, he worked at British Vogue, and was junior fashion editor at The Sunday Times Style.
Business of Fashion
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
How to Sell Sex to Gen-Z
Sexual wellness brands have a Gen-Z problem. When a wave of sexual wellness startups emerged in the late 2010s, their mission was clear: disrupt legacy players like Trojan and Durex with sleek design, inclusive messaging and a bold, feminist rebrand of pleasure. These brands leaned heavily into Millennial pink palettes and 'Instagrammable' aesthetics — with products positioned as much about shelf appeal as sexual empowerment — but the playbook they helped write is falling flat with younger consumers. Pandemic-era sexual wellness brands' 'feminist girlboss energy' yielded toys that 'look like MoMa pieces,' said Step Tranovich, the founder and chief executive of the Gen-Z focused label Cute Little Fuckers. 'They're nicely designed, but they lack, to some degree, personality and personability.' For Gen-Z, a cohort fluent in queerness and meme culture that maintains a scepticism of corporate polish, the visual language and values of Millennial-targeted brands can feel overly curated to the point of detachment. ADVERTISEMENT This disconnect is further compounded by Gen-Z's evolving relationship with sex and intimacy. According to a 2024 survey by dating app Feeld and the Kinsey Institute, 37 percent of Gen-Z respondents reported having no sex in the previous month — nearly double the rates reported by Millennials (19 percent) and Gen Xers (17 percent). Their ambivalence toward intimacy is also playing out in pop culture. In a 2024 survey, over 60 percent said film and TV sex scenes aren't necessary to advance a plot. For a generation rethinking intimacy, even on-screen sex often feels outdated and out of step with their reality. Elizabeth Tan, senior culture strategist at WGSN, ascribes this shift to a Gen-Z 'confidence crisis' that emerged during the pandemic. 'They lost all social confidence in lockdown and now find it difficult to pursue friendships or even make romantic connections,' Tan said. But where Millennial shoppers gravitated toward clean branding and taboo-breaking empowerment, brands hoping to reach Gen-Z are succeeding with educational messaging, in-person and online community events — not only to market their products, but to reawaken young adult desire. 'Brands becoming a bit more cheeky and tapping into humour with their messaging can be a great tool to communicate with this generation,' said Tan. 'You have to make them more curious about sex.' The New Sex-Ed The latest buzzword in sexual wellness isn't innovation — it's education. Among high school-aged Gen-Zers in the United States, 57 percent reported having had no sexual contact in their lives, according to a 2021 Centers for Disease Control study. This cohort is also overwhelmingly single compared to previous generations: nearly half report being unpartnered. These statistics have led some researchers to label Gen-Z as the 'loneliest generation,' with 80 percent reporting feelings of loneliness in the past year. There's an opportunity for brands to step in and help this generation navigate dating, sex and relationships, Tan added. ADVERTISEMENT Smile Makers, which launched in 2012 as one of the first sex toy brands to centre female pleasure in its messaging, is now investing heavily in transforming its platform from a transactional storefront into a space for exploration and learning, said Samantha Marshall, Smile Makers' global head of brand and marketing. The brand's e-commerce site now includes a free educational series titled Vulva Talks along with an anonymous Q&A function that connects users with sex and relationship therapists as well as physicians. They've also updated their packaging and user manuals, which now include accurate anatomical language, data on female orgasms and guidance on how to get the most out of each product. 'I think that for Millennials and above, we had this experience going to a shop, buying a sex toy, and the only thing that it told us to do was how to turn it on and off,' Marshall added. Some sexual wellness brands are also rethinking the 'by women, for women' messaging that defined the category in the 2010 and early 2020s. While that positioning resonated with Millennial consumers, it's proving too narrow for Gen-Z, who tend to reject binary identities and gravitate toward more fluid approaches to pleasure. Alexandra Fine, founder of budding sexual wellness conglomerate Dame, said that although gendered messaging once delivered strong results, it ultimately felt overly simplified. Today's younger consumers, she noted, are more comfortable navigating the complexities of sexuality and gender, particularly around the topic of consent. (Dame's largest customer base falls between the ages of 25 and 35 — older Gen-Z and younger Millennials.) Where Millennials often embraced a straightforward, binary consent model shaped by the #MeToo movement (where no means no, yes means yes), Gen-Z is more likely to question its limitations. Fine pointed to growing interest in topics that once lived on the fringes — like kink and consensual non-consent — as evidence that Gen-Z is open to exploring sexual dynamics that aren't always easily defined. 'That was such a risky thing to talk about 10 years ago,' said Fine. 'With Gen-Z, I feel like there's so much more nuance, and people are ready for the conversation.' Changing the Conversation To connect with Gen-Z, sexual wellness brands are learning to walk a careful line — creating a sex-positive community that feels inclusive and empowering without becoming a full-on consumer goods orgy. ADVERTISEMENT Cute Little Fuckers, a queer and disability-inclusive label, is taking a grassroots approach by offering a programme that allows low-income users to apply for discounted or free product, with costs subsidised through consumer donations. 'It does mean that sometimes we move products that are less than our target ROI, but I think that's okay,' said Tranovich. 'Building genuine community support will work out for us in the long term.' For Dame, that means investing in offline experiences that foster real-world conversations around pleasure. Earlier this year, the label launched a campaign in partnership with Planned Parenthood aimed at protecting access to sexual wellness products and reducing stigma as a response to the state's efforts to ban sex toys from grocery stores. While much has been made of Gen-Z's declining rates of partnered sex, Fine cautions against interpreting this trend as a moral panic. 'They are having sex — they're masturbating, they're engaging in online experiences,' she said. 'We're just not acknowledging those as valid forms of sexual expression.' Brands are increasingly turning to non-visual mediums, like the podcast and audio erotica space, which has seen rapid growth in recent years, led by startups like Dipsea and Quinn. In 2023, Smile Makers launched an audio erotica series dubbed Audioboobs which aimed to encourage woman-identifying listeners to perform breast self-checks during self-pleasure. These platforms also represent one of the few digital spaces where sexual wellness brands can reliably run ads. Audio is a powerful medium for a cohort grappling with 'warped self-image perceptions' shaped by social media and pornography, said Tan of WGSN. Unlike visual content, audio allows listeners to imagine themselves within the story without feeling pressure to look a certain way. 'With Gen-Z, it's not so much about sexuality more than it is about sensuality,' Tan added. 'At the end of the day, gaining confidence is about evoking desire and being authentic. That's what matters most to this generation.'
