s e j n b o h e m i ae r o s a
f l y e r
d a y b o o k o f
p a r t i c i p a n t s
d r a w i n g s
I,
II,
III,
IV,
V,
VI,
VII,
VIII,
IX
d a y b o o k o f
m. s e j n
p h o t o g a l l e r y
International
Interdisciplinary Open-Air Workshop
for dancers and
artists exploring the relation among body, art and landscape by Milos Sejn,
Frank
van de Ven and guest teachers Bohumir Prokupek and Vaclav Cilek.
Bohemiae
Rosa Project
Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
Bechyne Monastery Association
Czech Republic
Outstanding sages ... said, that Bohemia lies in the latitude between 34 and 35,
and up to 38 degrees, and in the longitude between 48 and 49, and to 51 degrees.
... Bohemia is under the sign of Leo ...
The geographers decided that Bohemia was shaped as a circle; and when Filip
Cluverius described Europe as a dignity queen, he used Bohemia as the navel. "In
our times", as he said, "some of the
geographers compared Europe to a sitting lady: Spain was her head, England her
furthermost neck, German countries her belly, Bohemia her navel, and the rest of
her body, covered by her large dress, was filled with Norway, Denmark, Sweden,
Finland…."
Unlike that, Jindrich Bünting portrayed Europe as a girl on whose heart lay
Bohemia as a golden coin or a necklace decorated with jewels, which girls
usually wear on their breast or heart. Aventius
nearly agrees with this portrait, saying that the Hercyn forest protects the
Czechs with a natural boundary, just as a heart or a lute are protected. Others
- to follow my original idea - in their painting show the image of Bohemia as an
egg. ... In a closer look you see that the local names are in accord with this
concept. I had a map of Bohemia as a rose flower printed not long ago. Its shape
is that of a beautiful amphitheatre, and just like the surrounding walls, steps
and higher seats, there are mountains raised all around Bohemia, providing an
eternal protection wall.
Bohuslao Balbino: Miscellanea Historica Regni Bohemiae, 1679
Since
1995 Milos Sejn and Frank van de Ven have co-operated in their bi-annual
interdisciplinary open air Body-Site-Exploration projects in various National
Reserves in the Czech Republic (Kokorin Valley, Plasy Monastery, Bohemian Karst,
Bechyne Monastery with the Luznice River and Bohemian Paradise) known as the
Bohemiae Rosa Project.
This
6th edition of the Bohemiae Rosa Project, is connected with the extended effort
of the Terra Felix Association and proposes to investigate "Site Specific" under
the integral theme w a l k i n g. Visual artists, poets, dancers and different
specialists in historical landscape will be working in / wandering through The
Sumava Mountains and Karel Hynek Macha Land.
The body is a landscape in itself moving within the larger frame of the given surrounding environment. The vertical and horizontal layering of the landscape invites us to reflect upon our own layers and connections of self and imagination.
We
will focus on:
-
process of walking and wandering, silent walk, pilgrimage and nocturnal journeys
-
various ways of
experiencing one's body and 'tasting' aspects of the landscape
-
processional experiences, working with time, peripatetic records, drawing,
writing, immediate contact with the elements of the
landscape
-
mental topography
of a location, myth, archaic mind and genius loci
-
geology,
archaeology and history of the Bohemian Forest as a model of self: layers,
vertical connections, labyrinths, joy and
melancholy
The workshop expects a creative and open participation of 15-20 artists as well as interested students who will be selected through open competition. No previous (dance) training is necessary but the workshop will be physically and mentally demanding, therefore a good overall condition is required. Trekking and staying in the open will in itself provide an entrance into the Body/landscape theme.
Milos Sejn
works
in the fields of visual art, performance and study of visual perception, and
conducts workshops, such as Bohemiae Rosa. His
artistic concept was formed in his youth when he undertook many trips into the
wilderness as a reflex of an inner need to get closer to nature's secret and
observe the miracles, which happen in it. From the beginning of the 1960s he
took pictures, drew, collected and described his observations of nature during
these wanderings. Currently he teaches mixed media and
the relationship of nature and art as intrinsic needs of the mind at the
Academy of
Fine Arts in Prague, and focuses on immediate creative possibilities, based upon
relations between historical humanized landscapes and intact nature.
http://www.sejn.cz
CD ROMs: Colorvm Natvrae
Varietas (Centrum for Culture and Communication in Budapest c3, 2000); Make Your
Own Island/Make Your Own Forest (Utrecht School of the Arts, Institute for
postgraduate and professional higher education in the Arts, 2001)
Frank van
de Ven
is a dancer and
choreographer who spend his formative years in Japan working with Min Tanaka and
the Maijuku Performance Company. In 1993 he founded together with Katerina
Bakatsaki 'Body Weather Amsterdam', a platform for training and performance.
Since 1995 he conducts with Milos Sejn the interdisciplinary Bohemiae Rosa
Project, connecting body and landscape with art, geology and architecture.
Interest in dance and theory led to the 'How to make yourself a Dancing Body
Without Organs' Project. Together with Peter Snow (Monash University) he
performs the famed Thought/Action Improvisations. An ongoing collaboration
exists with musician Daniel Schorno, artistic director of Steim Amsterdam.
Films (video and 16mm): Dancing Plasy Times
8, CI-VIT, LOM and NOUGHTS.
Guest teachers:
Bohumir Prokupek
is walker and photographer. From 2002 he was appointed the head of the landscape
photography studio at the Academy of Performing Arts – Faculty of Photography in
Prague. His last exhibition NATURE was realised at 2004 by Moravian Gallery in
Brno.
http://www.famu.cz/?c_id=2617
Vaclav Cilek
is a Quaternary geologist who specializes in landscape development, past changes
and interactions between prehistoric cultures and the environment. He teaches
students of cultural anthropology at Charles University, CR, Prague and
North-western University in Evanston, USA. He is interested in the narrow area
where archaic mind is confronted with contemporary culture.
http://www.gli.cas.cz/en/?
*site
n., pl. –es [Latin situs “place, position”, from sinere “to leave,
place, lay” ] 1. the actual or planned location 2 the place or scene of
something (a camp site) / site vt., to place on a site or in position: locate
*body
n., pl. -ies [OE, bodig, cask] 1. the whole physical substance of a man, animal
or plant 2. the trunk of a man or animal 3. a corpse 4. [Colloq.] a person 5. a
distinct mass [a body of water] 6. a distinct group of people or things 7. the
main part 8. substance or consistency, as of liquid
9. richness of flavour
*exploration
n., pl. –s the act or an instance of exploring / explore: seek to ascertain,
examine into XVI; search into (a country, etc) XVII 1. to search through or into
2. to examine carefully and in detail especially for diagnostic purposes 3. to
penetrate into or range over for purposes of discovery 4. to make or conduct a
systematic search [Latin explorare “to seek for”, from ex- +
plorare “to cry out”; probably from the outcry of hunters on sighting game]
*landscape
n., pl. –es [Dutsch landschap, from land+schap “-ship” ] 1. a picture of
natural inland scenery 2. a portion of land that the eye can see in one glance
*forest
n., pl. –s [Old French, “forest, hunting preserve” , Medieval Lain forestis,
from Latin foris “outside”] 1. a dense growth of trees and underbrush
covering a large tract; also: an area covered by forest, 2. something
resembling a forest especially in profusion (a forest of masts)
*wander
vb., wan-dered,
wan-der-ing [OE, wandrian] 1.
to move about aimlessly or without a fixed course or goal : ramble 2a to deviate
(as from a course) : stray 2b to go astray morally : err 2c to lose normal
mental contacts (as delirium or madness)
*walk
n., pl. –s [vb OE, wealkan “to roll, toss” ] 1. a going on foot (go for a walk)
2. a place, path, or course for walking 3. distance to be walked 4a manner of
living 4b social or economic stats (various walks of life) 5a manner of walking
5b a gait of a four-footed animal in which there are always at least two feet on
the ground
Dates
12 – 18 September
2005, arrival day 11 September
Meeting Place:
Bechyne
Monastery, Klásterní 39, 39165 Bechyne, Czech Republic
Accessible by train Prague - Tábor - Bechyne or by car from Prague (Plzen) via
Tábor
phone: +420 361813352
E-mail:
vcas@klaster-bechyne.org
http://www.klaster-bechyne.org
Workshop Fee
(including Bohemiae Rosa Tee Years DVD):
Euro 300 (students Euro 250)
(adapted price for Czech participants: Kc 3000, students Kc 2500)
The fee includes insurance and membership.
Accommodation in landscape and food provided by Bohemiae Rosa Foundation.
Travel expenses cannot be reimbursed.
Fees minus enrolment deposit will be collected upon the arrival
of participants (11 September).
The number of participants is limited. We recommend early applications.
Please bring sleeping bag, backpack, tent, warm and waterproof clothes,
raincoat and hiking boots for eight days living outdoors.
Make sure your equipment is in good condition! We will walk for 7 days
through Sumava Mountains and K. H. Macha Land and camp in varied places. To
ensure
the maximum freedom of exercises and concentration during our walking
excess luggage will be transported partly by car.
To reserve a
place send name, address, and a short c.v. plus an enrolment deposit of 50 euro
to Frank van de Ven, de Wittenkade 101, 1052 AG Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Giro Postbank IBAN account number NL77PSTB0004129679.
Enrolment deposit of 50 euro not refundable after August 20.
Czech participants payment: Bohemiae Rosa Foundation, Ceska sporitelna, account
number 1165204399/0800 or IBAN account number CZ53 0800 0000 0011 6520 4399
INFORMATION
frank.bwl@wanadoo.nl
bohemiaerosa@tiscali.cz
www.bohemiaerosa.org
www.npsumava.cz/klasik/english/
http://sop.default.cz/index_chko_an.htm
Bohemiae Rosa surrounds the centre of Europe as a power-radiating centre.
In terms of topography and history, it is an ancient centre of
communication where the petals of the rose flower, spreading
around, can read as versatility symbols of the ways of reading the world today.