ken knabb situationist international anthology

The market does itself ‘become.’ But that change is motivated only by an exploitative quantitative accumulation, which takes the form of the drive for profit. Originally Surrealism was intended as “poetry (in its most generous sense)… in a speculative becoming” (28). Krzysztof Fijalkowski takes us into the Situationists via their criticism of Surrealists for fetishing products of the pre-conscious and diversifying available commodities. Even as the group formed, they avoided culture niches. The Key Context section makes it clear that the Situationists wanted to destroy, not renew, the market. But, as we shall also find, important issues around the nature and value of Situationist ideas soon demand more from book and reader alike. More than an introduction, The Situationist International remains a useful companion volume to Situationist texts etc. Newer readers may not be aware that Marcus dismissed Situationist critique as noise outside mainly urban market renewal, as happened when punk opened up new music markets, and then went on to assist with gentrification (Marcus 1989, the “Version Two” chapters). For instance, the editor’s introduction congratulates populariser Greil Marcus (5). New readers may not immediately realise the extent of disagreement around Situationist ideas, and the need for care. In providing such context, The Situationist International is a de-cluttered point of ingress for those who came in late. She documents the activities of transgender farmer Katja Lindell (130). Ruth Baumeister will argue that widespread reference to the demographics of the group is the wrong way to gauge women’s participation (119). Later, Sophie Dolto and Nedjib Sidi Mouss will rebut Andrea Gibbons’ claims of Situationist Eurocentricism (114). Anslem Jappe opens by presenting new archival resources as curios, but it is clear enough that these could help establish better readership. The first section of the book is ‘Key Context.’ For those already familiar with misinterpretations, whether by a shallow academic fake like McKenzie Wark or the French state, this section reads as setting the story straight. But was that enough? The Situationist International tells why and how the ‘last avant garde,’ that of the Situationists (1957-1972), went beyond art. Disdaining form, these avant-gardes also opposed a system of war, plague and business. From the 1920s, Surrealists argued everyone could use automata to access a wealth of pre-conscious imagery, bypassing business as usual. Anyone who could be killed by mortar or Spanish flu could also nail a stuffed monkey to a board or sign a urinal. As World War One exhausted itself, the Dadaists thought that reacting against existing culture was enough. Francis Picarbia (1920) Portrait of Cézanne, Portrait of Renoir, Portrait of RembrandtĮarlier twentieth century avant-gardes wanted everyone to be an artist.

Ken knabb situationist international anthology