Untill I'm Done Reference Image

The Until I'm done performance by Nicola Ruben Montini was performed in the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń, as part of the Night of Museums 2012. The performance belongs to a series of unique performances, in which the author focuses on activities related strictly to endurance. In this case, Montini tried to cover the distance from the pavement in front of the Centre of Contemporary Art to the hall inside the building, using a pair of stilts that had been prepared especially for that purpose. The artist wore a white T-shirt, golden shorts and performance type sports shoes, and climbed the structure, using a ladder and the help of a number of assistants. Then, he slowly marched forward, leaning on two poles. The audience could see the enormous effort put into the action, as the artist had to make frequent stops to calm his shaking limbs. However, the significance of that artistic action had more to do with the overcoming of one's inner weaknesses, than to struggling with physical obstacles. The title of the entire performance indicates the determination demonstrated to eliminate weaknesses, and the performance could finish, if (and only if) the artist had completed his goal. [N. Cieślak]

The Until I'm done performance by Nicola Ruben Montini was performed in the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń, as part of the Night of Museums 2012. The performance belongs to a series of unique performances, in which the author focuses on activities related strictly to endurance. In this case, Montini tried to cover the distance from the pavement in front of the Centre of Contemporary Art to the hall inside the building, using a pair of stilts that had been prepared especially for that purpose. The artist wore a white T-shirt, golden shorts and performance type sports shoes, and climbed the structure, using a ladder and the help of a number of assistants. Then, he slowly marched forward, leaning on two poles. The audience could see the enormous effort put into the action, as the artist had to make frequent stops to calm his shaking limbs. However, the significance of that artistic action had more to do with the overcoming of one's inner weaknesses, than to struggling with physical obstacles. The title of the entire performance indicates the determination demonstrated to eliminate weaknesses, and the performance could finish, if (and only if) the artist had completed his goal.
In his artistic work, Nicola Ruben Montini focuses first and foremost on performances, which reflect a few of the primary spheres of the artist's interests. He puts great emphasis on the issue of gender, brings up problems regarding minorities discriminated against due to race or sexual orientation, as well as analyses the issue of social oppression, thus giving his artistic productions clear political associations. The No-time relation performance (photo-documentation has been added to the collection in the Centre of Contemporary Art in Torun) was a reference to the famous action carried out by Marina Abramović and Ulay. Montini often uses the strategy of appropriating a historic performance, of which the clearest proof is the Made in China series of actions, which was a response to Seven Easy Pieces by Marina Abramović (during the performance, Marina carried out legendary performances from the 1970s, including ones by Bruce Nauman or VALIE EXPORT). Both artistic actions – by Abramović and Montini – emphasized vividly the essence of performance, understood as a means of artistic expression, which can be repeated and reinterpreted by a number of different people. [N. Cieślak]