Museum of Modern Love discussion questions
Here is a link to some questions for Museum of Modern Love
https://readinggroupchoices.com/books/the-museum-of-modern-love/
More questions and background information available from the publisher
And from the Stella Prize judges and others
https://thestellaprize.com.au/prize/2017-prize/the-museum-of-modern-love/
Discussion Questions
1. The Museum of Modern Love was inspired by Marina Abramović’s performance piece The Artist Is Present. How has reading the novel influenced your ideas about art—and in particular performance art?
2. Jane Miller is drawn to return again and again through her precious days in New York to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). She finds it helps her process her grief. Have you ever found solace in something unexpected during times of grief or hardship?
3. The novel is a hybrid of fact and fiction. Discuss how the story moves between the real and the imagined.
4. We meet Arky Levin at a dark hour of his marriage. How has he contributed to the situation in which he finds himself?
5. What do you think Lydia’s motivations are in distancing herself from Arky? What would you have done in her shoes?
6. All the characters in the novel are affected by The Artist Is Present. What impact do you think art can have on individuals, and on society as a whole?
7. Has the book encouraged or inspired you to look more deeply into the work of Marina Abramović? What have you discovered?
8. The presence of Danica Abramović presides, ghost-like, over the event at MoMA. Discuss Marina’s relationship with her mother, and how Danica’s mothering affected Marina. Does your mother still have a presence in your life? How might she have influenced choices you have made?
9. The book is also a study of commitment—to marriage, to family, and to love, but also to creativity. Discuss commitments you have made (or would like to make) to living your life as fully as you can. Do you set aside time for creative pursuits or other hobbies? Have you done so even when there were conflicting pressures?
10. Eye contact is a normal part of life, but extended eye contact—the gaze—is intimate and revealing. Try it with a friend or loved one. See what happens. Share your experience.
11. Have you discovered other Australian writers? If so, which books have you most enjoyed?
---------------------------------
The Museum of Modern Love is a blend of fact and fiction. Do you think the novel would have been as successful if it had been based on a fictional artist?
Heather Rose has described the character based on Marina Abramović as someone ‘who had given her life, and her love, to art.’ Could you say the same of Arky Levin?
One spectator of The Artist is Present remarks “What you have to understand is the art is irrelevant ... You can’t write your way alive, or paint your way out of death. Sitting is not art, no matter how long you do it for.” (p. 19)
Do you think Marina’s performance is art? Why?
The story is told through an omniscient narrator. Is this an effective technique for the novel’s imagination and structure?
Jane tells Arky “I think art saves people all the time.” (p. 19) What do you think she means?
After witnessing The Artist is Present, Arky feels the need to keep returning. “Something about this was important, but he couldn’t say why.” (p. 25)
Why do you think it’s important to him? To Jane? To Brittika?
Heather Rose has said that female artists often don’t get the protracted, uninterrupted periods of thinking time that male artists do. Do you agree? How does Marina’s and Levin’s creative lives challenge or confirm this?
Are Lydia’s instructions for Levin to continue his life without the burden of caring for her an act of love? Do you think he’s being selfish for doing so or not being selfish by complying with her wishes? Is Levin a good husband to Lydia?
During their earlier performance of Nightsea Crossing, Ulay had to leave due to pain while Marina continued sitting without him. “I think it made him hate her a little bit. Knowing she could be stronger.” (p. 84)
How does this aspect of their relationship compare with those of Lydia and Levin, Francesca and Dieter, and Healayas and Arnold.
“Love accounted for so many things. A series of biological and chemical interactions. A bout of responsibility. An invisible wave of normality that had been romanticised and externalised. A form of required connection to ensure procreation. A strategic response to prevent loneliness and maintain social structures.” (p. 47) Is this love? Would you add anything to the list?
Watching the final moments of the performance, Jane comes to a realisation that “it is all about connection. If we do it with the merest amount of intention and candour and fearlessness, this the biggest love we can feel.” (p.266) In what ways does The Artist is Present connect people?
As The Artist is Present comes to an end, Arky finds the bravery to face not only Marina but his own situation. What do you think he has learned? Do you agree with the decision he ultimately makes regarding Lydia’s wishes?
If you had to visit and discuss The Artist is Present with any of the characters in the novel, who would you choose and why?
What would your performance art piece be?