Abramović: "We are actually living in a million parallel realities every single minute."

Abramović: "The big problem of our modern society is that we feel that we are separated from the nature. But it's just the opposite. We are interrelated and our DNA is the same. And only when human beings understand that, the nature will not be obstacle."

Abramović: "Happiness comes from the full understanding of your own being."

Abramović: "I really don't like art where you need to know so much theory to understand. If the theory is removed, it doesn't do anything. That means that this work is an illustration of theory, and I don't believe in the power of the work itself."

Abramović: "Being an artist is not easy - I have always said that to the students I have taught over the years. It's a huge sacrifice."

Abramović: "I don't think anyone does anything from happiness. Happiness is such a good state, it doesn't need to be creative. You're not creative from happiness, you're just happy. You're creative when you're miserable and depressed. You find the key to transform things. Happiness does not need to transform."

Abramović: "Your ego can become an obstacle to your work. If you start believing in your greatness, it is the death of your creativity."

Abramović: "The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind."

Abramović: "When you have a nonverbal conversation with a total stranger, then he can't cover himself with words, he can't create a wall."

Abramović: "To be a performance artist, you have to hate theatre. Theatre is fake... The knife is not real, the blood is not real, and the emotions are not real. Performance is just the opposite: the knife is real, the blood is real, and the emotions are real."

Abramović: "We always project into the future or reflect in the past, but we are so little in the present."

Abramović: "When you have heartbreak, what's important is that you don't go halfway. Go all the way down. Don't take pills that keep you in limbo. Cry out all the feelings. Then your own energy for life will put you up again. You become stronger."

Abramović: "An artist should not fall in love with another artist."

Abramović: "If you're a woman, it's almost impossible to establish a relationship. You're too much for everybody. It's too much. The woman always has to play this role of being fragile and dependent. And if you're not, they're fascinated by you, but only for a little while. And then they want to change you and crush you. And then they leave."

Abramović: "In theater, blood is ketchup; in performance, everything's real."

Abramović: "First of all, to do performance art, you really have to give 100 percent. I only know that I have to give 100 percent and then what happens, happens."

Abramović: "The most revolutionary ideas are not sellable, but only mind-changing."

Abramović: "In every ancient culture, there are rituals to mortify the body as a way of understanding that the energy of the soul is indestructible. The more I think about energy, the simpler my art becomes, because it is just about pure presence."

Abramović: "Cancer is an emotional disease."

Abramović: "It's very important that young artists push boundaries, because sometimes you have this urge to do something - like the impulsive and dangerous urges I had as a child - and if you don't follow through with it you might miss out on a developmental experience."

Abramović: "I had three abortions because I was certain that it would be a disaster for my work."

Abramović: "I am obsessive always, even as a child. On one side is this strict orthodox religion, on the other is communism, and I am this little girl pulled between the two. It makes me who I am. It turns me into the kind of person that Freud would have a field day with, for sure."

Abramović: "I don't have tattoos, I have scars!"