This performance solidified her theory that humans have a "threshold" of cruelty. In a civilized setting, we behave. But given total permission and anonymity, the mob turns savage. The fact that no one actually shot her was not due to the goodness of the crowd, but only because one person dissented.
The Rhythm 0 video documents a terrifying trajectory: the speed with which ordinary people descend into cruelty when accountability is removed.
The psychological shift in the room was instantaneous. Confronted with a living person rather than a passive object, the audience fled. They could not face the reality of the behavior they had exhibited or witnessed. Abramović later noted that the departure of the crowd highlighted a fundamental inability to confront the humanity of the person they had just manipulated. The Importance of the Rhythm 0 Performance Video marina abramovic rhythm 0 performance video
Scissors, needles, a whip, chains, a pocket knife, and sulfur. Items of Danger: A pistol and a single bullet. The Six-Hour Descent into Chaos
A rose, honey, bread, grapes, wine, perfume, and a feather. This performance solidified her theory that humans have
What the proves is the Stanford Prison Experiment in real time. Abramović later said in interviews (visible in the documentary footage appended to the Rhythm 0 clips):
Participants began to use the more dangerous objects on the table. Her clothing was removed, and her skin was subjected to various forms of physical provocation and minor injuries. The artist was treated as a mannequin, moved into humiliating positions as the crowd’s collective empathy began to erode in favor of dominance. The Climax: A High-Stakes Confrontation The fact that no one actually shot her
In the video, we see a young, brunette Abramović standing motionless behind a wooden table. She is wearing a simple white blouse and jeans. On the table are 72 objects, arranged like a market stall of doom. They range from benevolent (a rose, a feather, honey) to utilitarian (a scalpel, scissors, a hammer) to lethal (a loaded pistol with one bullet).