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Farewell Rituals
. . .
 FAREWELL RITUALS | July 17 - August 2, 2003An Installation and Performance by Blake Beckham and Adam Overton
Dedicated to the People of Atlanta
Special Thanks to Blake Williams who produced the DVD documentation of Farewell Rituals
A collaborative series of farewell rituals by Blake Beckham and Adam Overton, presented as a one-night performance and 2-week-long installation at Eyedrum in Atlanta, GA, dedicated to the people of Atlanta. It included my first computer-assisted zazen performance.
Farewell Rituals (Adam Overton). . . . .
farewell.ritual.no.1
everyone i have known
with a black permanent marker on a white wall, write the names of every person whose name you can remember. allow your mind to freely move from name to name in whatever order it desires. do not prepare for this task, try only to remember. you are finished once you can no longer remember any more names...
. . . . .
farewell.ritual.no.2
portraits of my friends and mentors
with a permanent black marker on a white wall, draw from memory the faces of your closest friends and mentors, the people who have influenced you most profoundly. allow each person's residual energy to guide your hand. write their name underneath their portrait…
. . . . .
performance:
farewell.ritual.no.3
everyone i have known (imprinted)
have a close friend write with a black permanent marker on your body the names of all the people you remember. speak each name one at a time, allowing the writer to then imprint it on your body. focus on the mental image produced as you speak each name...
. . . . .
farewell.ritual.no.4
meditation
fill a room with stones and place cushions for meditation in the center. meditate in a seated position for an extended period of time by focusing on the movement of your breath. feel your body sitting, your lungs breathing, your mind thinking. rise occasionally to stretch your legs by slowly walking barefoot in a circle around the cushion while still continuing to meditate. feel the individual stones as they press into the soles of your feet. be aware as your mind wanders, and let the thoughts drift away; return your attention to the breath. meanwhile, monitor your body through sound, using your breath and your wandering mind to sculpt a recording of a text you have written…
Imagesphotos by Adam Overton except where noted           
Preparation         
Press Release
FAREWELL RITUALS
AT EYEDRUM ART AND MUSIC GALLERY, ATLANTA
On Thursday July 17th at 8 pm, dancer/choreographer Blake Beckham and sound artist Adam Overton will present an evening of Farewell Rituals at Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery in Atlanta. The event will consist of several rituals performed simultaneously by the two artists, as well as the installation of a "farewell shrine" in Eyedrum's small gallery, which will be on exhibition until August 2nd. Beckham and Overton will be bidding the people of Atlanta farewell before they relocate in September to Ohio and California, respectively, and is intended as an homage to all of the amazing people here that have touched their lives. In addition, Beckham and Overton will also use this final performance to bid each other farewell.
Farewell Rituals, for Beckham, is about the exploration of the emotional states involved in farewell.In her physical investigation she asks: What do we have to let go of in order to make room for the present? How do we experience time, departure, loss and reckoning? Blake blends private, intimate rituals with elements that engage and include the audience.Using a combination of props and sheer physical presence, she creates poignant images that evolve and transform over the span of the performance.Adam Overton's performance will focus on the relationship between sound, breath, body and mind, as he engages in his first zazen (sitting-meditation) performance. Through ritual he will pay homage to the countless friends, family, teachers, acquaintances and strangers who have all been instrumental in shaping his life's path.
Blake Beckham is a graduate of Emory University, where she earned a B.A. in English and Dance & Movement Studies.Blake was one of Emory's first dance majors, and became the first student to create an independent honors project in choreography. Upon graduating, she was honored with the University's Sudler Award for excellence in the arts and the Emory Dance Program's Pioneer Award. Blake has worked for the past two years as an Arts Administrator for Emory, while continuing an active career as a choreographer and performer. She has danced for Coriolis Dance Project, Duende Dance Theater, Moving in the Spirit, Gardenhouse Dance, and other artists including Anna Leo and Lori Teague. She is a founding member of the Nerve Series - a collective of risk-taking modern dance artists in Atlanta.Her choreography has been presented at a variety of venues. Beckham will attend The Ohio State University next fall, as a University Fellow, to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography.
Adam Overton is a musician and performance artist from Atlanta. Raised in Snellville, GA, he came to Atlanta to major in jazz drumset performance at Georgia State University where he studied with Jack Bell and Woody Williams. While there he also studied computer music and composition with Robert Scott Thompson. Overton has had the opportunity to compose and perform sound and music for a variety of situations including puppetry theatre, a planetarium exhibit, modern dance, sound installations, and performance art. In Winter 2002, he helped to found the Electric Arts Alliance of Atlanta (EAAA) and worked to develop a monthly Electric Arts forum at Eyedrum. This led to him joining the Eyedrum Board of Directors in Novermber 2002, and to the curation of The Atlanta Electric Arts Festival in November 2002, and of L'Objet Sonore, an international sound sculpture exhibition held at Eyedrum in January and February 2003. Last but not least, Overton plays drums in the rock band Moreland Audio. He will be leaving Atlanta for Valencia, California in September 2003 to study 'Integrated Media' at the California Institute of the Arts.
Opening Night Admission is $4.
Doors open at 7:45 pm;
For more info about Eyedrum, or for directions:
This program is supported in part by the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs.
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Press & Reviews
Best Dancer | pdf
Destiny's Dancers: Beckham and Overton perform Farewell Rituals | pdf
Local Artists Share Personal Farewells | pdf
Related Pages
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http://plus1plus1plus.org/meditations/FarewellRituals
last updated 20 January 2010, at 04:55 PM PDT
