Who is Acèphale?
Acèphale is an artistic cell of solo and group performances involving various members. It has performed internationally in such countries as the United States, Germany, Italy, Holland, Mongolia and Japan.
Acèphale takes its name from the clandestine cult organization formed by Georges Bataille in 1938. Its present reincarnation was intuited by Sir Djeffery Babcock and Aryan Kaganof in 1994. Since that time it has produced a wide range of artistic projects including films, concerts, books, interviews and experimental theatre pieces.
In all of its endeavours it incorporates a similar system of creation. It has developed a structure of intersections which give rise to the definition and direction of a given moment. Therefore it always takes connections from outside of the artistic sphere, in order to influence its creativity. This procedure takes Acèphale away from most current artistic trends and places it closer to the mystical sciences. Acèphale accepts this banishment gladly since in its estimation most modern art has succumbed to middle class gallery aesthetics. This seems to be more of a marketing ploy, rather than an intensely creative impulse.
In respect to the original Acèphale group, it must be said that we have a predilection for the more severe and tender dimensions of creativity. Out methods, whether poetic or political, will always have more affinities with Artaud, Bellmer, or the Viennese actionists, rather than the pop aesthetics of, for example, Andy Warhol.
Acèphale believes that in order for the spirit to rise, creativity must be re-grounded. It attempts to fertilize that ground through a range of transgressive acts manifested in literature, cinema and live performances. It is especially when all three of these primal elements are harnessed together that Acèphale feels that a true filed of discovery is penetrated.
In these acts of extremity they aim to loosen the moorings beneath the surface of existence, so that all that is suppressed can flood once again into the physical realm. In this way it is important to note that Acèphale doesn’t believe in transcendence as a solution, but rather in the infusion of magic into the physical.
Acèphale
June 14 2002
Bratislava
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