Acclaimed French artist Pierre Huyghe has spent the past twenty-five years experimenting in a great variety of media, from drawing and film to uncommon components such as living animals, plants, and other natural elements. His new project, Rite Passage (2015), conceived and created for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, will explore the transformation of cultural and biological systems through the Museum’s collection, architecture, and surroundings.

This fascinating and informative book is the third in a series that documents and contextualizes the Met’s annual rooftop commissions. The introductory essay by Ian Alteveer discusses the nineteenth-century scientific and artistic endeavors that have long inspired Huyghe. The dynamic interview between the artist and Sheena Wagstaff explores the conceptual framework for Huyghe’s latest project as well as the wide-ranging sources that inform this remarkable event.