If you aren’t quite sure what love looks like anymore, but still believe in it;

If you believe that love isn’t about making anyone stay;

If you believe that love is hearing each other’s song, yet resting contented in each other’s silence;

If you know that love is not clinging, or bondage, but space in between your togetherness,

This story is for you:

Marina Abramovic and Ulay were artists who met and fell in love in the 70s. For a decade, they did avant-garde collaborative work, even referring to themselves as a collective being, “The Other.” Yet like many intense collaborations, it ran its course. The flames that burn the brightest sometimes burn out quickly. They parted ways after one final trip across The Great Wall of China. They began at opposite ends, each walking the 2500 kilometers to meet in the middle before they said goodbye.

At her 2010 MoMa retrospective, Marina performed a piece titled, “The Artist Is Present.” She sat in silence for a minute with each stranger who sat in front of her. At the opening night of the show, Ulay was among them. This is that chapter of their story:

Best comment, below: “Because we never stop silently loving those who we once loved out loud.”

There are so many cliches about love: Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong.

All you need is love.

I may have a lot to learn about love, and I’m only an amateur artist, but this video touched me in both aspects. Because after all:

“I feel there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”

~ Vincent van Gogh

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