Situationist International

“Previously the most lucid artists had wanted to break the separation between art and life: the S.I raised this demand to a higher level in their desire to abolish the distance between life and revolution.” Gilles Dauve

After reading both “Society of the Spectacle” and Gerald Raunig's “Constructing the Situation” it seems that the Situationists had a pivotal role in revolutionary theory in both art and life taking place around the 1950s and 60s. The ideas relating to both the Situationists and Debord’s ideas are somewhat complex and confusing. But, ultimately from what I have read the Situationists were more concerned with revolutionary revolt against capitalism than art. ‘ Society of the spectacle’ argued that society moved from focus on production to consumption transforming society into a mass consumer of goods. These ideas were the basis of the movement of Situationist international which were trying to create 'revolutionary 'situations' designed to shake the viewer's passive acceptance of the role of the non-thinking spectator.' The SI lead to a redefinition of the relationship between art and its audience and the situational space inhabited by individuals which was inspirational at the time this was all taking place.

The SI took to the open urban landscape for their work to take place, setting up environments that would have an effect on the emotions of the participant similar to the work of Viennese actionists as they we no longer reflecting life they were creating it. That is, they were breaking free from the constraints of art ‘trading the closed art space for the tendenitally open surroundings of urban space.’ Ultimately, they were creating ‘anti-art inventions in concrete social space.”

SI's "central idea is the construction of situations, that is to say, the concrete construction of momentary ambiances of life and their transformation into superior passional quality.”

Raunig suggests there is little evidence of the activities taken place by the SI however, it seems they were a driving force in revolution at the time. The SI and the Debord’s theory is a combination of ‘cultural criticism and revolutionary theory.’ The SI turned their activities into a social movement and turned their efforts from anti-art propaganda too more politically driven ideas. Personally, the most interesting thing about the SI is the how they took construction out into the urban environment to spend this idea of life and revolution to get people to think as an individual at a time when the masses were being consumed by capitalism