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TRANSFORMATION RITUALS IN THE PERFORMANCES OF JUDIT KELE
to sell herself, and this is severely punishable by law. Ihus, the marriage an¬
nouncement took on a political hue because Kele wanted more than anything
to be convincing, as if it were real. "And it was this reality that became risky,
projecting her into the real unknown world, among unknown people." And
aside from certain cultures, it is just not customary to marry absolute strangers
or sell yourself to someone. Then, additionally, when the encounters with the
so-called candidates took place, would it be possible to tell them what this was
really about: “I will not marry you, but come and buy me.”!? By doing so, she
was, in practice, excluding the fertilizing and protective rituals of marriage,
since she did not intend to properly marry the chosen applicant, but — instead
— to sacrifice herself on the altar of art.*°Not only did Kele receive a response
from candidates to the advertisement, but many people also expressed their
sympathy for the artist:
Marriage can be about a lot of things, but this one would be a marriage of convenience
above all, securing [your] liberty.
I very much understand your problem.
I am 33 and ready to get involved in a marriage of convenience with you. This
formality is without consequences and obligations for me, and if it enables me to get
acquainted with new people, that is satisfactory. I give my consent on the condition
that I will be charged with no extra expenses on account of this unselfish gesture.
Please, accept my application, but it might cause problems if you have a high income.
Besides, a potential divorce has legal consequences in case one of the two parties
demands their freedom back.”!
If we take van Gennep’s interpretation, we can define the auction as a kind of
specific proposal. According to him, the “mergence” is a “union” in a “socially
recognized way,” preceded by a “frontier stage,” an engagement that in many
cultures is considered a sovereign event from the institution of marriage itself,
with its own distinct, preliminary, and border (frontier) rituals and traditions.”
A woman proposing to a man is already a really modern action but done
in this manner it really makes it extraordinary. Kele, moreover, was already
married at the time, but her partner was supportive of her and her art. So the
proposal happened as a kind of auction. On September 27, 1980, Judit Kele,
who is about to get married, sits on a podium in the exhibition hall of the
19 Turai: Ibid., 15.
2° Gennep: Ibid., 128.
2 Hock: Ibid., 39-40.
2 Gennep: Ibid., 127.
* 169 +