A Shadowy Ritual
Rituals are a feature of almost all known past or present human communities. Often, a ritual is a sequence of repeated actions believed to have symbolic value. Rituals include various acts of worship associated with organized religions and cults such as compliance with religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners. Also, rituals extend to secular contexts such as oaths of allegiance, coronations, inaugurations, graduations, or situations in which an individual experiences satisfaction through the behaviors of a ritual itself.
According to Wikipedia, rituals may be performed at regular intervals, for specific occasions, or at the discretion of individuals or communities. They may be performed by a single individual, by a group, or by an entire community; in arbitrary places, or in places especially reserved for the ritual; either in public, in private, or before specific people. A ritual may be restricted to a certain subset of the community, and may enable or underscore the passage between religious or social states.
An essential feature of a ritual is that the actions and symbolism are not arbitrarily chosen by the performers of the ritual, nor dictated by logic or necessity. Typically, the actions of the ritual are directed and imposed upon the performers by an external source or are inherited unconsciously from social traditions. However, personal rituals abound in which the three art dolls in this post undertake upon a stage and under a shadow of secrecy.
This post relates to my fascination with ritual and why so many current day rituals are undertaken without question in the context of dogma or cultural expectation. The three reconstructed art dolls were donated to me for the purpose of this project and rescued from a destiny of slow decomposition in landfill. Made from plastic and coated in various paints and silicone, they stand between 10 and 5 centimeters.
(This post relates to A Shadowy Ritual, Arrigo Dorissa art dolls # 19, #20, #21, February 2009)
This assemblage and your blog post prompt me to think how art and ritual are similar. Each contains secrets and symbolism that touches us on emotional and spiritual levels. So an art piece about ritual provides a kind of double-whammy effect, right?
I had not previously thought of the similarity between ritual and the process of creating art. You have helped me perceive creating art works in a different way. I agree with your comments. You have helped me to understand these matters with a new approach. Thank you.