The Blood Family Reunion

Blood Family Reunion. Ritual meal at Cat’s Paw Palace, Berkeley, CA, Dec. 31, 1975 - January 1, 1976.   Photo: MAFISHCO archives





About the work

Blood Family Reunion, was a New Year’s Eve rite of passage conceived and executed by Paul Cotton, Mary Baker, Debra Rapoport, Susan Wick, and Margaret Fisher. Beginning rites took place at St. John’s Presbyterian Church designed by architect Julia Morgan in Berkeley, with a ritual meal at Cat’s Paw Palace of Performing Arts in Berkeley, CA to follow. The evening was a classic performance art event from the 1970s that focused on life-as-art.
The rites transpiring inside the church.  Photo archive MAFISHCO.

The entrance to the chapel. Paul Cotton dressed as Father Time, with Margaret Fisher.  Photo archive MAFISHCO.