Situationism

[Agent]

a few essays i would start with:

"Theory of the Derive": http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/2.derive.htm

"Basic Program of the Bureau of Unitary Urbanism": http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/6.unitaryurb.htm

"Formulary for a New Urbanism": http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/Chtcheglov.htm

"The 1965 Watts Riot" http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/10.Watts.htm

i wrote a paper about psychogeography-as-aesthetic practice last semester, posted here

Debord's 1959 psychogeographical map "The Naked City":

 

[Tentative Andy]

Yeeeaahh... haven't made much progress with reading any of this stuff yet.
*shame-faced emoticon*

 

[zhao]

but inna final analysis it was all pretty futile wasnt it. MTV won the detournment war didnt it. like dada and surrealism before, it just all got swallowed up by commodity culture didnt it.

but i suppose there is a thin, very thin line of thought that survives, will survive...

 

[dubble-u-c]

but inna final analysis it was all pretty futile wasnt it. MTV won the detournment war didnt it. like dada and surrealism before, it just all got swallowed up by commodity culture didnt it.

but i suppose there is a thin, very thin line of thought that survives, will survive...

Yes it was/ is.

I personally like this line of thought. even though it has very little do with SI:
Hakim Bey-
CHAOS: THE BROADSHEETS OF ONTOLOGICAL ANARCHISM
*

COMMUNIQUES OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ONTOLOGICAL ANARCHY

THE TEMPORARY AUTONOMOUS ZONE

http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html

 

[dubble-u-c]

Yeeeaahh... haven't made much progress with reading any of this stuff yet.
*shame-faced emoticon*

That's alright. Most people don't make much progress reading any of this stuff /s

 

[john eden]

but inna final analysis it was all pretty futile wasnt it. MTV won the detournment war didnt it. like dada and surrealism before, it just all got swallowed up by commodity culture didnt it.

but i suppose there is a thin, very thin line of thought that survives, will survive...

Overturning the existing order takes time.

 

[vimothy]

Yeeeaahh... haven't made much progress with reading any of this stuff yet.
*shame-faced emoticon*

Chtcheglov's essay is probably the best thing to come out of the SI. Just read that.

 

[craner]

Interesting you're so familiar with this stuff, Vim. Do you have (whisper it) a radical background?

 

[vimothy]

I used to read lots of pretentious crap, if that's what you mean!

 

[vimothy]

Maybe that's a bit harsh. But nowadays I'd rather read about the Situationists -- who'd hate the title of this thread, by the way -- than read them.

And I agree re Stewart Home point upthread -- the man is a total scenester, which is why I was mostly unmoved by The Assault on Culture.

 

[zhao]

it still boggles the mind how you went from Situationism and the Frankfurt school to being a fan of the US milliatary Vimothy.

 

[vimothy]

You ain't seen nothing yet!

 

[zhao]

i guess in a world where Israeli army strategists implement Delusian theory to design tactical operations, anything is possible. (makes me feel ill)

 

[vimothy]

Would it make you feel any better to learn that they aren't doing it very well?

 

[bashert]

This doc accompanied the 1989 exhibition on situationism

A Guy Debord film here

 

[xero]

Yes it was/ is.

I personally like this line of thought. even though it has very little do with SI:
Hakim Bey-
CHAOS: THE BROADSHEETS OF ONTOLOGICAL ANARCHISM
*

COMMUNIQUES OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ONTOLOGICAL ANARCHY

THE TEMPORARY AUTONOMOUS ZONE

http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html

Has everything to do with the SI really I think, Bey (a pseudonym of Peter Lamborn-Wilson I believe,) Baudrillard, Semiotexte (who published Bey) are all very much post-SI

thanks for the links in this thread everyone, as a long-time student of the teachings of Debord/Vaneigem/Chtcheglov/Jorn/& esp Constant who is undergoing a serious revival in interest they are extremely useful

Vimothy - saw Weizman give a lecture at the LSE last year where he showed some video of Shimon Naveh talking - any idea if this is on the web anywhere?

 

[Agent]

did anyone read the book 50 Years of Recuperation? It's not at any of the university libraries, in fact the closest location is in Knoxville according to WorldCat, and i don't have any cash atm (until i get a 4K grant from this new Obama program for aspiring teachers), and i can't find any reviews in the resources.

 

[xero]

I have a copy of an English situationist pamphlet, called 'Revolutionary Theory for Beginners,' with texts by Nadine Bloch, Joel Cornuault and Jean Peres - it's compiled by Nick Brandt

I'm going to scan it and can post it here if anyone's interested

also there is or was a situationist archive somewhere in south London, I have a flyer for it somewhere from a couple of years ago - anyone know if this still exists?

 

[john eden]

if it was 56a infoshop then yes it does. google em they have a site.

 

[john eden]

did anyone read the book 50 Years of Recuperation? It's not at any of the university libraries, in fact the closest location is in Knoxville according to WorldCat, and i don't have any cash atm (until i get a 4K grant from this new Obama program for aspiring teachers), and i can't find any reviews in the resources.

http://stewarthomesociety.org/blog/?tag=50-years-of-recuperation-of-the-situationist-international