Walking through New York City's Times Square this past weekend I came upon a group of people looking up and pointing at a large outdoor video screen.  On the screen were the images of a man and a woman kneeling opposite each other against a dark background.  They took turns slapping each other in the face at a quickening pace, over and over until the woman finally ducks her head evading the next slap and ending the cycle. 

I stood watching for a while and overheard the crowd complain about how  "horrible" the video is and how it promotes violence and domestic abuse.  "They shouldn't put that up here" one woman said.  "Little kids will watch this and think it's ok or cool or funny to hit other people."  The others standing around agreed with her making similar comments. 

The video is titled Light/Dark (1977) by performance artist Marina Abramovic (featuring performance artist, Ulay) and will be on display March 14 - April 14, 2010. 

Of course, the performance is open for interpretation.  Take a look at the short video clip and decide for yourself.  What do you think?

Video and photo by Lulis Leal
March 20, 2010