Bonnie Blue’s failed petting zoo stunt was a step too far for a lot of people, but shockingly, Marina Abramović’s rendition in 1974 actually went ahead.
Back in May, Bonnie Blue unveiled her petting zoo plans in a move that would inevitably contribute to her OnlyFans downfall. The premise was simple: Bonnie would be tied up in a glass box, and the 2,000 attendees were permitted to do anything to her.
“For 24 hours, I’m all yours. Tied up, gagged, bent over, begging – however you want me, you can have me. No limits. No breaks. Just me, in a box and ready to be used,” a website about the event explained. “It’s dirty, intense, and completely open. You can watch, join in, or do both. There will be live shows, group scenes, and plenty of chances to get involved — whether you want to take control or just enjoy the view.”
For obvious reasons, it was widely condemned, and Bonnie was soon forced to cancel it as she explained: “The petting zoo has had to go, but I’m replacing it with something even better.”
We never (thankfully) got to see the petting zoo event, and Marina Abramović’s 1974 performance proves its cancellation was a good thing.
Who is Marina Abramović?
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Marina Abramović, the self-declared “grandmother of performance art”, is a Serbian conceptual artist whose work delves into the bond between the audience and performer.
“The body has always been both her subject and medium. Exploring the physical and mental limits of her being, she has withstood pain, exhaustion, and danger in the quest for emotional and spiritual transformation,” her website reads.
“Abramovic’s concern is with creating works that ritualise the simple actions of everyday life like lying, sitting, dreaming, and thinking; in effect, the manifestation of a unique mental state.”
Why was Marina Abramović’s event similar to Bonnie Blue’s?
Credit: ANDREJ CUKIC/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Back in 1974, Marina Abramović put on a Bonnie Blue-like petting zoo art installation in Naples, Italy. Attendees were invited into the room where Marina stood motionless alongside the instructions, “There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as desired. Performance. I am the object… During this period, I take full responsibility.”
According to Unglossed Magazine, Marina stood unmoving for six hours in her Rhythm 0 piece as people used items from the table, which included a rose, a feather, honey, a whip, olive oil, scissors, a scalpel, a gun and a single bullet. The piece was designed to illustrate the extreme lengths people would go to without consequences, and while it started off innocently with people planting a kiss on her cheek or a rose in her hand, it then took a darker turn.
“By the third hour, every thread of cloth had been cut from her body. Her neck had been slashed shallowly and the wound licked,” the article reads.
“Abramović maintained her composure through numerous sexual assaults. A flash point came when a protective group formed to stave off some of the more experimental participants, one of whom pressed a gun to her head.”
Rhythm 0: A Slide Show
“What I learned was that … if you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you. … I felt really violated: They cut up my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the audience. Everyone ran away, to escape an actual confrontation,” she later said.
That was a major fear with Bonnie Blue’s event. Regardless of her prior consent, the idea of people acting on their worst impulses was something people felt should not be platformed – especially in the viral OnlyFans space.
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Featured image credit: Bonnie Blue/Rhythm 0: A Slide Show documentary
