Marina Abromovic at MOMA-attention whore?

Marina Abromovic is a performance artist. This month at the MOMA, her retrospective show, Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present, opened. it runs through May 31st 2010. Abromovic is no stranger to controversy. It can be said that she thrives on the inflammatory and experimental performance that she creates.
In this retrospective, several performance pieces by Abramović will be re-performed as well as one new piece. The new piece is a 700 hour performance by Abramović, in which she sits in a chair with cushions. Across from her is a table and another chair, this one without cushions. The artist does not talk. Museum goers are invited to sit down across from Abramović. Essentially, museum goers are privileged enough to engage in a staring contest with Abramović. Though no one talks, it seems there may be some form of communication, as if Marina was a painting herself. You can watch a live feed from the MOMA here.
It is unclear what viewers are inclined to feel. However, it is almost without a doubt that Abramović evokes visceral reactions from her viewers. This article explores some of those feelings. To me, Abramović's willingness to sit in the gallery is making a commentary on the way a viewer communicates with a piece of art. We see the art, but we never see the artist. I think that she is breaking down the barrier between art and the artist in allowing us to see her. However, because Marina does not talk, it takes away from this theory. I would hope Marina Abramović is speaking to this relationship, but I do not know if this is the correct interpretation. This review questions the re-performance of performance art. Which, I think is a legitimate question, because performance art at its core is ephemeral, so does it make sense to re-perform?