Vaseline [1991-1993]

Vaseline. n.p [Paris, France]: n.p. [self-printed], 1991-1993. 21 x 30 cm.; black ink on white stock. 7 issues and 1 supplement (to issue no.5) published.

Ephemeral pro-situ journal, about which very little known. The tone is deliberately provocative, with dry (often self-conscious) humour mixed in. This is perfectly summarized in the Editorial to the second issue: “La recette est facile: choisissez un theme, n’importe lequel, et critiquez violemment. N’oubliez jamais le point de vue de la totalite. Ajoutez une pointe d’humour! Laissez mijoter. Servez en potlatch.” (p.1) [The recipe is an easy one: pick a topic, any topic, and criticize violently. Never omit the point of view of totality. Add a touch of humor! Let it simmer, and serve as a “potlatch” (p.1)]

Scarce. We have never encountered a copy in the trade. The journal was only distributed at the legendary “Librairie Actualites”, which closed its doors in 2007. No copies on OCLC either, though it appears from Issue #2 (see pictures below) that the IISG in Amsterdam unsuccessfully attempted to get a subscription (and, in pure Situationist fashion, is lambasted for it)

Notes sans Portee [1997]

Vaneigem, Raoul and Roure, Roland. Notes sans Portee. Bruxelles: La Pierre d’Alun, April 1997. 73 p.; ill.; 16 x 23 cm.; cream wrappers with text in black. In sheets.

For the thirtieth title in its “Pierre d’Alun” series, the small Belgian publishing house brings together former Situationist Raoul Vaneigem (Belgian, 1934-) and French artist Roland Roure (French, 1940-) for a celebration of pleasure.

Since “Le Livres des Plaisirs”, Vaneigem has indeed made hedonism his trademark: human beings should seek out pleasure, even though modern society does everything in its power to deny it to them. The first sentence sets the tone: “Le desir est semblable a l’enfant. Sa naissance est l’acte de vie par excellence. Cependant, tout est aussitot mis en oeuvre pour empecher son envol, lui rogner les ailes et le trainer vers la mort comme si elle etait son destin ineluctable” (p.9).

600 numbered copies, including 50 signed an numbered by the artists. This is No. 367.

Only one copy found in the trade, with another 15 on OCLC.

De la Methode Triolectique dans ses Applications en Situlogie Generale [1964]

Jorn, Asger. De la methode triolectique dans ses applications en situlogie generale: Institut Scandinave de Vandalisme Compare, [June] 1964. 11 p.;ill.; 21.5 x 14 cm.; white wrappers with text in black

First separate edition of this important text by Jorn, which was also published as a chapter in Signes gravés sur les églises des départements de l’Eure et du Calvados (Etching on the churches of Eure and Calvados) in the same year.

The Triolectic method defines itself against the Dialectic method, which embodies a violent conception of the world embraced by the bourgeoisie. The binary model is replaced by a tertiary model, which smashes the bipolar confrontation that prevails in modern society.

De la methode triolectique was the inspiration behind and laid the foundations for three-sided football, among others. To learn more about three-sided football and how it relates to Jorn, watch the video at https://vimeo.com/12509689

Scarce, with 8 copies on OCLC

ANOTHER INTERLUDE: Book Announcement – Cosmonauts of the Future: Texts from the Situationist Movement in Scandinavia and Elsewhere

A brief interlude to announce the release of a new book about the SI:

Bolt, Mikkel and Jakobsen, Jakob (Ed.). Cosmonauts of the Future: Texts from the Situationist Movement in Scandinavia and Elsewhere. Copenhagen: Nebula, April 2015. 304 p.

From the publisher:

This is the first ever English-language anthology collecting texts and documents from the still little-known Scandinavian part of the Situationist movement. The book covers over three decades of writing, from Asger Jorn’s “Luck and Chance” published in 1953, to the statements of the Situationist Antinational set up by Jens Jørgen Thorsen and J.V. Martin in 1974. The writings collected gravitate around the year 1962 when the Situationist movement went through it’s most dynamic and critical moments, and the disagreements about the relationship between art and politics came to a culmination, resulting in exclusions and the split of the Situationist International.

The Situationists did not win, and the almost forgotten Scandinavian fractions even less so. The book broadens the understanding of the Situationist movement by bringing into view the wild and unruly activities of the Scandinavian fractions of the organisation and the more artistic, experimental, and actionist attitude that characterised them. They did, nevertheless, constitute a decisive break with the ruling socio-economic order through their project of bringing into being new forms of life. Only an analysis of the multifaceted and often contradictory Situationist revolution will allow us to break away from the dull contemplation of yet another document of Debord’s archive or yet another drawing by Jorn. There is a lot to be learned from the history of revolutionary failure. It is along these lines that this book points forward beyond the crisis-ridden capitalist order that survives today.

Texts by: Asger Jorn, Jørgen Nash, Jens Jørgen Thorsen, Bauhaus Situationniste, Jacqueline de Jong, Gordon Fazakerley, Gruppe SPUR, Dieter Kunzelman, J.V. Martin, and Guy Debord.

Translated by: Peter Shield, James Manley, Anja Büchele, Matthew Hyland, Fabian Tompsett, and Jakob Jakobsen.