What Marina Abramovic’s Giant (Insane) New Museum Will Look Like

Performance art is undeniably immaterial, it has that je ne sais quoi that could mean both "What is so cool about this?" and "What is this all together?" But to make sure it's given a space, a name, and a face more permanent than the length of the compiled performances, Marina Abramovic has commissioned OMA — the famed architecture firm led by partners Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhass — to develop the Marina Abramovic Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art in Hudson, housed in a former theater (that Abramovic purchased in 2007) that was the birthplace of the Hudson River School. Close to Dia: Beacon, we're thinking creative field trips are on our horizon. Abramovic's addition to the scene will be like a museum, think tank, theater, and school all rolled in to one, and who better to lead the charge than industry vet, Marina? (Who could forget her thought-provoking and, uh, explicit blockbuster show at MoMa?)

This week, we attended an event to celebrate the release of progress and renderings on the project with presentations in the MoMA PS1 performance, and while the performances may be (yep) immaterial, we've got renderings of the new space (expected to open in 2014) that prove just as interactive and thought-provoking as the pieces that will be conducted inside its walls. Crystal caves? Yep. Space-age "method" classrooms? Check. The only thing that's missing? The disciples. And we anticipate Marina's Met Gala date, James Franco, will be the first to sign up — because he doesn't have enough going on right now, anyways.