[Blake_Stimson,_Gregory_Sholette]_Collectivism_aft(z-lib
Internationaleries 29of the fourth and Wnal group discussed in this chapter, the Situationist International.The SI reached its peak in the sixties, but continued on into theearly 1970s. More theoretically poised than the LI, the SI was also more orientatedtoward radical politics. Their substantial work in cinema, graphics,theory, and publishing is today highly inXuential and increasingly studied. 50Certainly from the perspective of the grotesque the group’s détourned moviesare exemplary. Seeking to undermine the usual mimetic experience of viewingcinema they destroyed the mirror-like, imaginary identiWcation viewerstypically have with the Wlmic image. However, it was the SI members’ manyexperiments in publishing that most clearly express their approach to collectivepractice. Collaborative works such as Fin de Copenhague in whichAsger Jorn and Guy Debord exchange artistic ideas are what we would calltoday “artist’s books.” Self-published in a limited edition, Fin de Copenhagueconsisted of two hundred printed copies and bore the unmistaken imprintof a rough, samizdat publication including irregularly Wnished pages, unevencoloration, and assorted other imperfections typical of non-mass-producedobjects. Even its title acknowledged a grotesque experiment by invokingthe idea of “ends” as well as “means” and further mocking the bureaucraticmystiWcation of everyday life. In addition, just as in their Wlms, Fin de Copenhaguewas a pilfered assemblage of cut-out materials appropriated from Danishnewspapers, French advertising commercials, city maps, comic pages,and various stolen sentences pulled out of their original context includingespecially various political slogans of the day. SigniWcantly, in keeping withother aspects of their practice, the book was also freely distributed.As has been widely acknowledged, the most important “grotescoserious”experimental tool of the SI was without doubt their journal, theInternationale Situationniste. The journal’s twelve issues between 1958 and1969 were “luxuriously produced,” and not without ample reference toavant-garde and constructivist aesthetics. However, instead of the primarycolors associated with Kalte Kunst, the journal displayed glowing metalliccovers in blue and pink, gold and silver, thus ironically framing the “newmachine age.” The magazine’s initial layout also included photographs ofthe members with misplaced captions and judiciously peppered photographsof pinups girls in raincoats standing either on beaches or resting supine onthe backs of horses. This visual diffusion functioned as an obvious parody ofPlayboy magazine, which had recently been launched in 1953. It mockedthe new magazine’s thinly veiled treatment of sexual desire as a product ofpolitical economy. 51 Inside, its pages contained detailed diagrams of moderncities, assorted maps of an unknown, dystopic suburbia, as well as a linedrawing of an apparatus for generating a “Gaussian distribution” of driftingpaths. 52
30 Jelena StojanovićIn the 1960s the “détourned” comics of Andre Bertrand wereadded to the SI journal. Refusing to hold copyright, Bertrand’s graphicsridiculed the ambiguous pop-art strategies of American artists. However,the largest inXuence the SI had came from their pamphlets including RaoulVaneigem’s 1966 brochure, On the Poverty of Student Life, or The Situationistsand the New Forms of Action in Politics and Art. These were widely translatedaround the world and in many cases directly contributed to the core of studentupheavals in the mid- to late 1960s. 53 But most inXuential of all wasFIGURE 1.4. Fin de Copenhague, a MIBI détournement by Asger Jorn andGuy Debord, 1957. GrafWti reads “Long live free Algeria.” Copyright 2004 fam.Jorn/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/COPY-DAN, Copenhagen.
- Page 2 and 3: ▲COLLECTIVISMAFTERMODERNISM
- Page 4 and 5: COLLECTIVISM▲AFTERMODERNISMThe Ar
- Page 6 and 7: TO LOUISE AND ARIANA
- Page 8 and 9: CONTENTS6. The Mexican Pentagon 165
- Page 10 and 11: AcknowledgmentsThis book would not
- Page 12 and 13: PrefaceThe collectivization of arti
- Page 14 and 15: FIGURE P.1. Promotional poster for
- Page 16 and 17: Prefacexvdirectly opposite individu
- Page 18 and 19: Prefacexviiadmit a desire to see al
- Page 20 and 21: Introduction: Periodizing Collectiv
- Page 22 and 23: Introduction 3to increase their pro
- Page 24 and 25: Introduction 5Modernist artists und
- Page 26 and 27: Introduction 7Those good intentions
- Page 28 and 29: Introduction 9and that helped give
- Page 30 and 31: Introduction 11collectivism brings
- Page 32 and 33: Introduction 13artists on Chicago
- Page 34 and 35: Introduction 15Phase of the Cultura
- Page 36 and 37: 1. Internationaleries: Collectivism
- Page 38 and 39: Internationaleries 19played a “us
- Page 40 and 41: Internationaleries 21Rooskens, Euge
- Page 42 and 43: FIGURE 1.2. Le “Realisme-Socialis
- Page 44 and 45: Internationaleries 25and an active
- Page 46 and 47: Internationaleries 27create a democ
- Page 50 and 51: Internationaleries 31Debord’s 196
- Page 52 and 53: Internationaleries 33in which the n
- Page 54 and 55: Internationaleries 35be demystiWed
- Page 56 and 57: Internationaleries 37printing a ser
- Page 58 and 59: Internationaleries 39NOTES1. Harold
- Page 60 and 61: Internationaleries 4136. The exhibi
- Page 62 and 63: Internationaleries 4377. Michel de
- Page 64 and 65: 2. After the “Descent to the Ever
- Page 66 and 67: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 68 and 69: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 70 and 71: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 72 and 73: After the “Descent to the Everyda
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- Page 76 and 77: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 78 and 79: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 80 and 81: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 82 and 83: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 84 and 85: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 86 and 87: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 88 and 89: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 90 and 91: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 92 and 93: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 94 and 95: After the “Descent to the Everyda
- Page 96 and 97: 3. Art & Language and the Instituti
Internationaleries 29
of the fourth and Wnal group discussed in this chapter, the Situationist International.
The SI reached its peak in the sixties, but continued on into the
early 1970s. More theoretically poised than the LI, the SI was also more orientated
toward radical politics. Their substantial work in cinema, graphics,
theory, and publishing is today highly inXuential and increasingly studied. 50
Certainly from the perspective of the grotesque the group’s détourned movies
are exemplary. Seeking to undermine the usual mimetic experience of viewing
cinema they destroyed the mirror-like, imaginary identiWcation viewers
typically have with the Wlmic image. However, it was the SI members’ many
experiments in publishing that most clearly express their approach to collective
practice. Collaborative works such as Fin de Copenhague in which
Asger Jorn and Guy Debord exchange artistic ideas are what we would call
today “artist’s books.” Self-published in a limited edition, Fin de Copenhague
consisted of two hundred printed copies and bore the unmistaken imprint
of a rough, samizdat publication including irregularly Wnished pages, uneven
coloration, and assorted other imperfections typical of non-mass-produced
objects. Even its title acknowledged a grotesque experiment by invoking
the idea of “ends” as well as “means” and further mocking the bureaucratic
mystiWcation of everyday life. In addition, just as in their Wlms, Fin de Copenhague
was a pilfered assemblage of cut-out materials appropriated from Danish
newspapers, French advertising commercials, city maps, comic pages,
and various stolen sentences pulled out of their original context including
especially various political slogans of the day. SigniWcantly, in keeping with
other aspects of their practice, the book was also freely distributed.
As has been widely acknowledged, the most important “grotescoserious”
experimental tool of the SI was without doubt their journal, the
Internationale Situationniste. The journal’s twelve issues between 1958 and
1969 were “luxuriously produced,” and not without ample reference to
avant-garde and constructivist aesthetics. However, instead of the primary
colors associated with Kalte Kunst, the journal displayed glowing metallic
covers in blue and pink, gold and silver, thus ironically framing the “new
machine age.” The magazine’s initial layout also included photographs of
the members with misplaced captions and judiciously peppered photographs
of pinups girls in raincoats standing either on beaches or resting supine on
the backs of horses. This visual diffusion functioned as an obvious parody of
Playboy magazine, which had recently been launched in 1953. It mocked
the new magazine’s thinly veiled treatment of sexual desire as a product of
political economy. 51 Inside, its pages contained detailed diagrams of modern
cities, assorted maps of an unknown, dystopic suburbia, as well as a line
drawing of an apparatus for generating a “Gaussian distribution” of drifting
paths. 52