Rites of the Dreamweapon Promotional Poster

Angus MacLise was the original drummer of The Velvet Underground, a calligrapher, printing press owner, and a pursuer of other creative endeavors throughout the 1960s and 70s. He was a hippie and counterculturist. When he and his wife had a son, MacLise sensed Buddhist powers in him, leading them on a journey to Nepal. It was in Kathmandu that their son was declared a saint, and the family officially moved there. Kathmandu would soon become the location of The Bardo Matrix Press. 

In 1965 before his move to Nepal, MacLise's experimental performance, “Rites of the Dreamweapon,” premiered at Jonas Mekas’ New Cinema Festival. This flier with noted margins was used as promotional material, reading "RITES OF THE DREAMWEAPON: a massed performance, immense Spectacle, dark rituals of the N.Y. Underground, musicians, dancers, stiltwalkers, & troupe of lunar companions: MAY 28 - 10 P.M.  until dawn at the CINEMATHEQUE | 85 E. 4th St." Words including “coma,” “delirium,” and “frenzy” litter the margins. Featured imagery includes Buddhist deities meditating amidst performers. 

Choosing to pair language such as “delirium,” “rites,” “spectacle,” and “dark rituals” with Buddhist imagery perpetuates an exotic stereotype of Indian religious culture. The hippie adoption of Indian religions and the parallels between South Asian exoticism and the experimental nature of the event adds to this perpetuation.