If I had recently spent upwards of 700 hours seated in a chair and staring at strangers, the idea of sitting anywhere — even in a tony Upper East Side restaurant — would make my gluteus maximus quake with terror. But artist Marina Abramovic is a more adventurous woman than I, and, having failed to learn her lesson during her chair-bound MoMA retrospective, she has created another artwork that can only be enjoyed by the seated. Now through late March, diners at the Park Avenue Winter restaurant, which metamorphoses with each season, can partake of a $20 "Volcano Flambé" dessert conceived by Abramovic and Park Avenue Winter’s executive chef, Kevin Lasko.

The mini flaming mountain of ice cream, meringue, and banana mousse, topped with gold leaf and spun sugar, all on a bed of almond cake and cookie crumbs, is the first of four artist-chef collaborations arranged in consultation with the nonprofit art organization Creative Time. And it's an aphrodisiac! (True love is, in fact, felt when someone spends the cost of admission to MoMA on a confection that is both savory and sweet.)

View Slideshow: Marina Abramovic Says, "Let Them Eat Flaming Volcano Dessert"

"The first meeting with Marina is very intimidating, but she's a sweetheart." Lasko told ARTINFO at a tasting last night. "We were kind of expecting the worst with her because we just left it wide open. We told her she could do anything she wanted. But she wasn't that bad, there were no creative conflicts, she was actually quite easy to work with."

But the collaboration was not completely angst free. "Originally we didn't want to do any desserts, because we have a pastry chef, but we were all too scared to tell Marina that," Lasko said. "So we ended up doing one — but this is the last dessert."

What do patrons of the restaurant get for their $20? Well, you are given a lab coat to wear, and are presented with a pale wooden box, a glass of water, a fork, a spoon, and a napkin. Inside the box is an MP3 player and headphones (which wrap around the back of your head so that they don't muss your hair, a feature that Creative Time director Anne Pasternak said the lusciously-tressed artist insisted on).

Press play and hear the seductive, murmuring tones of Abramovic's voice telling you to close your eyes and breathe. Sound advice followed by instructions for the consumption of the fancy Baked Alaska that has magically appeared before you while your eyes were closed. "Now she's in you," Pasternak ominously told tasters, mid-transubstantiation, last night. According to the Creative Time director, when the recording was first played in the nonprofit's offices, it was met with the question "Who's orgasming in the office?" and the realization "Oh, that's Marina."

Overall, it's a little horrifying to have someone wielding fire directly in front of you when your eyes are closed. I'm also a tad worried that Abramovic is becoming antisocial, finding ever more inventive ways to avoid talking to the other people at her table.

But, I do love a party favor, and the little booklet of "Spirit Recipes" that comes with the dessert is quite charming. It is filled with items such as "To be consumed on a solar eclipse," which suggests that you, on such a celestial occasion, devour "3 glasses of water that a ruby has been soaking in for 3 days." Oh, and also a pomegranate. Also, this consulting gig means that Creative Time gets to feed its starving artists and fans (like us!) with delicious food from Park Avenue Winter.

Artists Janine Antoni, Paul Ramírez Jonas, and Michael Rakowitz will work with Lasko on dishes in the coming seasons. I'm especially excited for Antoni's creation, as the artist is already quite the expert (in the way that mice are experts) in making art from food. In the past she has used her teeth to chisel chunks of lard and chocolate.  

For pictures of this performance art-dessert team-up, click on the slide show at the left.