If you leave it to the crowd, they will tear you apart

That phrase is the famous conclusion of artist Marina Abramović after her celebrated and dangerous work "Rhythm 0" in 1974. Details of the work and the risk: The experiment: For six hours, the artist remained motionless in a room with 72 different objects that the public could use against her as they pleased (from feathers and flowers to knives and a loaded gun). The violence: As the hours passed, people became aggressive: they cut her clothes, stuck thorns in her, and even pointed the gun at her head. The lesson: When the time was up, when she began to move like a real person, everyone fled in fear of the consequences, demonstrating the cruelty that arises when people believe they have permission to hurt with impunity.