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Introduction

The Situationist International is one of the most impactful collectives of the 20th century and as what usually comes with success is misinterpretation and distortion, as well as what they have termed “recuperation”. From fraudulent critiques to use in Israeli military policy¹, the Situationist International (abbreviated as SI) has been twisted in both its means and theory. The SI is in many ways similar to the German KAPD, as both were influenced by avant-garde movements like Dada and Marxist theory. LIke the KAPD, the time of the SI is over, the International is dead and it has become itself an ideology, one is no longer a Situationist but rather believes in Situationism.²

A brief history of the Situationist International

The Situationist International emerged from the French post-war avant-garde, particularly from Isidore Isou’s Lettrist group, as well as taking influence from earlier art movements, particularly those of Dada and Surrealism. Guy Debord, originally a member of the aforementioned organisation, split with what he deemed “right-wing lettrists” over a theoretical disagreement about Marx, as well as claiming they lacked social critique, to form the Lettrist International. Another Influential group from the Lettrist milieu were the ultra-letterists, particularly Gil J. Wolman, who also participated in the Lettrist International. In 1957 the Lettrist International, International Movement for an Imaginary Bauhaus, and the London Psychogeographical Association fused into what would become the Situationist International with the first issue of its journal being published in 1958.

The critique of “situationism”

The Situationists were always careful never to present themselves as a static ideology, stating “Revolutionary theory is now the enemy of all revolutionary ideology, and it knows it.”³, as well as calling Détournement “the flexible language of anti-ideology.”⁴