Some people have very specific ideas of what they want in life and Marina Abramović is certainly no exception.
In a keynote speech during her 12-day residency for Kaldor Public Art Projects, the 67-year-old Serbian artist discussed elaborate plans for her own funeral.
Marina said that “an artist should die consciously without fear" and that “the funeral is the artist's last piece before leaving."
Prompted by the death of close friend Susan Sontag in 2004, she was so affected that she immediately began to make her own arrangements.
“It was the saddest funeral I've been to in my life and she is one of the greatest human beings I have ever met," said Marina, as reported in The Guardian.
"She was full of life, curious, and just an incredible writer. I went back to New York and went straight to the lawyer and said my funeral is going to be like this. And then I made an entire script."
“I want to have three Marinas," she explained. “Of course, one is real and two fake because you can't have three bodies. But I want these three Marinas buried in the three cities which I've lived the longest, which is Belgrade, Amsterdam, and New York."
Where her actual body will be buried is to remain a total secret, she added.
She would like everyone to dress in bright colours, and has even chosen the music she would like to have.
“I want Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, who is a great singer and friend of mine, to sing I Did It My Way," she continued. "He never said yes but I think he will be so sad that I die he will probably do it."
Marina’s elaborate funeral plans reflect a shift in perception as more and more people opt for personalised funerals.
Today, funerals can be just as unique as the person who died.
It seems that baby boomers (those born between the years 1946 and 1964) are shaping the funerals of the future, adding personal touches to make the ceremony a unique celebration of an individual's life.
