Situating the Situationist International - Essay Example

ench faction started to adopt the concept of “constructed situation.” The members of the S.I were outraged by cultural capitalizations and economic markets. These were perceived to be the hijackers of aesthetic experience. In 1958, S.I co-founder Guy Debord and a section of the rest of the group decided to sabotage the International Assembly of Art Critics which was taking place in Belgium. They condemned the commercialization and institutionalization of art by the event, and called for subversive and new aesthetic ideologies.

The approaches used by the S.I included the use of protesting text, hand-out copies, forcing themselves into press meetings and clubs, and throwing of pamphlets into crowds. They also used to throw leaflets from buildings into cars and over windows. These approaches still live with the present day representation and politics. Situationism has, however, evolved. In the middle of the 20th Century, situationism aimed at redesigning its context and the attitude of the public with the purpose of achieving integration and to have anyone enjoy the art world.

Newer methods and re-appropriations of situationist methods are both aesthetically and politically successful. The devised methods have been more successful in exposing or opposing deceptions of capitalism than the ill-fated earlier methods where artists found themselves ignored, crushed or scorned. The interventions of the Situationist international have a mild impact both aesthetically and politically. Newer methods and re-appropriations have been, however, more successful than the historically devised ones.

The author of this anthology seeks to emphasize on the S.I’s engagement with cultural politics and art of their time during the 20th Century. He builds majorly on their activist and political stance and the interaction of Guy Debord with other members of the group. Published in 2004, this book supplements both political and aesthetic sections. It also provides some hard-to-find