Andre Frankin in Arguments (1960 and 1962)

About Andre Frankin. “André Frankin is not well-known and his impact on the lettrist and situationist movements are hard to measure” states scholar Jean-Marie Apostolides. André Frankin (also know “Robert Rivier” and “Léonard Rankine”) was born on 16 June 1925 in Liege, Belgium and died in the same city on 28 March 1990. Born into a middle class family, he suffered from neurological issues as a child that left him partially disabled – he walked and, at times, spoke with difficulty. Yet, he was viewed as intelligent and well-read. He first met Debord and the Internationale Lettriste through the Metagraphies exhibition in Paris in 1954. He then wrote several articles in Potlatch under the pseudonym “Leonard Rankine”, including “Perspectives of the Paris and London agreements” (Potlatch 15, December 1954). His contributions to the SI include: “Platform for a cultural Revolution” (Internationale Situationniste 3, December 1959), “Programmatic Outlines” (Internationale Situationniste 4, June 1960), and “Preface to the Scenic Unity” (Internationale Situationniste 5, December 1960).

FRANKIN, Andre. Wilhelm Reich et l’economie sexuelle (in Arguments 18, 1960). Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1960. 64p.; 14 x 22.5 cm.; cream wrappers with text in black and red.

Writte while he was a member of the Internationale Situationniste, Andre Frankin’s “W. Reich et l’economie sexuelle” was published in issue 18 of Arguments (pp. 29-35). In this substantial article, Frankin provides an introduction to controversial psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, who had passed away 3 years before in New York. According to Frankin, “Wilhelm Reich attempted to combine Marxist dialectics and psychonalaysis, advocating for both sexual and social liberation. He was excluded from both the Communist Party…and the International Psychoanalytical Association (1930-1934). His analysis and strong criticism sought to remove all obstacles to full erotic satisfaction…” (pp.29). Post-situationist figure Jean-Pierre Voyer authored an important essay on Wilhelm Reich which was published by Champ Libre in 1971 and subsequently translated into Spanish, Italian, English, German and other languages.

 

FRANKIN, Andre. Le parti, le quotidien (in Arguments 25-26, 1962). Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1962. 96 p.; 14 x 22.5 cm.; cream wrappers with text in black and red.

Written a few months after his resignation from the Internationale Situationniste in March 1961, Andre Frankin’s “Le parti, le quotidien” was published in issue 25-26 of Arguments (pp. 46-48), The article opens with a quote from noted sociologist Henri Lefebvre, then goes on to argue that the failure of Europen’s political parties can be explained by their inability to access workers’ everyday live. “The party, everyday life: there is no possible balance between the two, there is only a dialectical relationship” argues Frankin (pp. 46). Though Frankin is no longer an official member of the SI, the Situationist overtones are clear here. Debord and Lefebvre had met in 1960 and, despite a relatively quick falling out, the sociologist and his ideas had a major impact on the SI.