Rites of Passage

An Informal Gathering on Performativity
17 – 24 May, 1998
Center for Metamedia
Plasy Monastery

Rite of passage, ceremonial event, existing in all historically known societies, that marks the passage from one social or religious status to another. This article describes these rites among various societies throughout the world, giving greatest attention to the most common types of rites; explains their purposes from the viewpoints of the people observing the rites; and discusses their social, cultural, and psychological significance as seen by scholars seeking to gain an understanding of human behaviour.

 

This page is a work in progress.

Ritual is often understood as a performance that brings about a magical or spiritual engagement with reality. In the context of creative work, ritual can, too, be an indispensable means of defying boredom and the senseless seriousness of society. This project – an international gathering of artists from the inner-most to the farthest reaches of performance – was inspired by the conviction that the time is ripe for an attempt to recommence an interdisciplinary discussion on this theme. Organized in collaboration with mamapapa.

Participants:

Martien Groenveld & Det Smeet, Luna, NL; 
Richard Jung, CZ; 
Karel Adamus, CZ
David Horan & Petr Lysáček, USA/CZ; 
Michal Murin & Peter Kalmus, SK; 
mamapapa (Andrea Jantošková, Kristýna Lhotáková, Tomáš Žižka, Ládislav Soukup), CZ;
Subtheater (Barbara de Groot, Duro Tomato Grdinič, Gerindo Kartadinada, Klaas Kuitenbouwer), NL; 
Zbigniew Warpechovski; PL (did not arrived?),
Martin Zet