A love story that spans decades is made poignant in this short video. In the late 1970s, Marina Abramović and Ulay fell in love and created art together. As they ended their relationship, they created art in that too. With Marina walking from the Yellow Sea and Ulay from the Gobi Desert, they each walked over 1000 miles to meet on the Great Wall of China. They hugged for a final time and left each other.
"At her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, where she shared a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing and this is what happened." (via zen garage)
Supposedly, the actual purpose of their walk towards each other was to celebrate their eternal love, but through the months that it took them to reach the Great Wall, our friend Ulay had managed to impregnate one of the ladies travelling with him. So Ulay and Marina met at the Great Wall and of course the Great Truth was revealed to Marina, who said, with ladylike practicality, that since they have reached their target destination they should tweak the purpose and celebrate their split instead of their union. Hence, this piece of art is called 'Moving On'.
(Is it morbid that I hope the dramatic version is true?)
