FINAL #6 Situationist

Question 1

The Situationist International *

Answer 1

• It is an international organization moved by Marxist ideas.
• They are greatly anti-capitalist.
• They believe that value in art is a fantasy and a product of capitalism
  > The idea of value comes from the idea that art is eternal… that it will get more valuable with time… this relates it to capitalism.
  > But in truth art can’t last forever… eventually it will decay.
• They work to change this idea through play… b/c it is not dependent on commodities and it is completely meaningless and useless.. but fun.
• They are against the spectacle and instead are interested in the situation.

Question 2

Derive *

Answer 2

• This is a form of play that the SI develops that is associated with drifting.
• It involves walking through the city.
  > having no plan… using the city to guide your direction… or sometimes using an incorrect city map to guide…
• Essentially the city pulls you where you need to go.
• Involves Psychogeography… study of the flow of the city… study of the effects of the environment.

Question 3

SI views on Capitalism

Answer 3

• Capitalism only has two realms
  > consumption and production.
• Production = Hell and Consumption = Heaven
• Capitalism creates a space for leisure time which is buying things.

Question 4

Spectacle

Answer 4

• It is a distraction
• It is visual
• It is entertaining
• It mediates our relationships… we now relate with one another through spectacle.
• it creates passivity
• Example… television
• Commodity is now replaced by images
• Images have a life their own… relates to commodity taking life… commodity fetish.
  > images don’t depend on us… they have become our reality… we think that life should be what images/television/internet… should be like.

Question 5

Situation

Answer 5

• PLAY
• Puts us back in touch… with reality
• it is active
• A mode to bring one out of capitalist structures.
• Types of situations
  > derive… walking though city with only the city to guide…
  > Unitary Urbanism… incorporating art into the city to wake people up… ex graffiti
  > Detournment… Taking an object of value and devaluing by marking it… ex taking a painting and painting marks over it… meant to remove the value from the object.