To: avant-garde-AT-world.std.com
Subject: SURREALISTS/SITUATIONISTS
From: alastair.dickson-AT-almac.co.uk (Alastair Dickson)
Date: Sat,  8 Oct 94 13:40:00 +0000


Andy Wilson asked:

>1) About surrealists vs. surrealist influence vs. surrealistic: what are
>   the general politics of the splits amongst the surrealists, especially
>   with relation to the question of the Communist Party, Trotskyism,
>   Breton and Trotsky, surrealism in Eastern Europe (was it repressed at
>   any point because of Breton's association with Trotsky?), and so on.

A useful book on this subject is Helena Lewis's "Dada Turns Red: The
Politics of Surrealism" (ISBN 0 7486 0134 1) published by Edinburgh Uni.
Press in 1990, although it has little to say about postwar Surrealist
activity, which included their involvement with the French Anarchist
Federation.  
A critical review of the book appeared in issue 8 of "Variant" (ISBN 0 954
8815).  If persuaded, I could type up that review and post it to the
list...  

>2) More generally, does anyone know of current Situationist-linked 
>   activity in the UK.

There are a number of projects by people who have been influenced by the
Situationists but who aren't trying to claim any mantle.  These potted
summaries obviously fail to capture the projects:

(a)	BM Blob (address: BM Blob,London WC1N 3XX) publish occasional
pamphlets on autonomous activity.

(b)	"Here and Now" magazine.  Emphasis is on analysis of the malevolence
of managerialism.
Contact: c/o Transmission, 28 King St, Glasgow G1 5QP
or PO Box 109, Leeds LS5 3AA
Also email <an52399-AT-anon.penet.fi> and ftp from <etext.archive.umich.edu>
under directory pub/Politics/Spunk.

(c)	London Psychogeographical Society
Publishes newsletter and various intervention leaflets. Use parascience
and occultism in ways which confuse the mainstream media (e.g. p.3 story
on LPA in "The Observer" a few weeks ago)
Contact via Box 15, 138 Kingsland High St., London E8 2NS

(d)	"No" magazine (and formerly "Anti-Clockwise") published from PO Box
175, Liverpool L69 8DX

(e)	West Yorkshire Discussion Group.   
Contact via Leeds H&N PO Box.

So there are projects spread across much of Britain.  Self-consciously
Sit. inspired pamphlets also appear sporadically from all over.

Another trend seems to be an on-curriculum academicisation of Situationism
(e.g. in the architecture school at Glasgow).

>3) Does anyone have opinions on Neoism, Art Strike, etc.

I recently passed the texts of Stewart Home's "Art Strike Papers" and
"Festival of Plagiarism" pamphlets on to Spunk Press (ftp address at (b)
above), but I haven't checked to see whether they've actually appeared in
the archive yet.


__________________________________________________________________
-- Alastair Dickson             I  <alastair.dickson-AT-almac.co.uk>
-- Stirling, Scotland           I
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