Gruppe SPUR. Die Zeitschrift SPUR. Munich, Germany: n.p., 1962. n.p. [7 volumes bound in one, ca. 250 p. total]; ill.; 29 x 30 cm. Cover consists of an original lithograph. One of 270 numbered copies (ours no. 81)

The volumes includes all 6 issues of group’s journal (released separately in Munich between August 1960 and January 1962, in printings of 1,000-1,600), a not-previously-released seventh issue, and the four most important manifestos. All this original material is assembled together and bound in a thick, luxurious square-shaped volume that appears destined for art collectors.

Gruppe SPUR was comprised of Lothar Fischer (1933-2004), Heimrad Prem (1934-1978), H.-.P Zimmer (1936-1992), Helmut Sturm (1932-2008), Dieter Kunzelmann (1939-), Erwin Eisch (1927-), Eva Renée Nele Bode (1932-), Margarete “Gretel” Stadler (1937-) and, briefly, Heinz Höfl (1934-). Fischer, Prem, Zimmer, Sturm and Kunzelmann were also members of the Internationale Situationniste from 1959 until their formal exclusion on February 10, 1962. During those years, SPUR basically functioned as the German section of the SI. While the split was the result of a complex series of events, it was driven by a fundamental disagreement on the role art should play in a revolutionary avant-garde organization like the SI.

Following its exclusion from the SI, Gruppe SPUR, which had been under the scrutiny of the German government, faced legal trouble. In the first trial of artists in Germany since the Third Reich, issue 6 of the group’s journal was seized by the police and its authors prosecuted for “blasphemy” and “pornography”. In a tract dated 25 June 1962 (“Déclaration sur les procès contre l’Internationale situationniste en Allemagne fédérale”) Michèle Bernstein, J.V. Martin, Alexander Trocchi and Raoul Vaneigem expressed their support to the group on behalf of the SI.

A legendary item of the European political and artistic avant-garde.

Scarce, with 10 copies on OCLC.

Internationale Situationniste. Critique européenne des Corps académiques des Universités, Collèges et Instituts de recherche de la métropole de New York et de l’aire de Cambridge-Boston; à propos du programme inadéquat que les susdits viennent de soumettre au président Kennedy et au gouverneur Rockefeller, dans le but de renverser l’absurde processus de la «défense civile» aux États Unis.  Paris: Mutant, n.d. [1962]. single sheet [2 p.]; 32 x 12 cm.; red ink on cream stock.

Bilingual leaflet in French (recto) and English (verso). The English title is “European critique of the inadequate programme which has just been presented to President Kennedy and Governor Rockefeller by the academic staff of Universities, Colleges, and Research Institutes for New York City and the Cambridge-Boston Area”

The leaflet serves two purposes. First, it condemns an announcement regarding fallout shelters made by the Civil Defense Letter Committee that appeared in the international edition of The New York Times on 30 December 1961. Further, it announces the publication of  a new review entitled “MUTANT”, to “appear in the Spring” of 1962 (and residing at the same address as the Situationist International, at the Montagne-Ste-Genevieve in Paris). The text is attributed to Debord and Jorn, the latter having been formally excluded from the SI just months prior but with whom Debord maintained a strong rapport. MUTANT never came to be, and this leaflet is the sole remaining printed evidence of this project.

The leaflet was reproduced on back the cover of Situationist Times no. 1 (May 1962) in both French and English, as well as in Situationist Times no.2 (September 1962) in English only.

The full text in both French and English can be found here: http://debordiana.noblogs.org/2011/06/critique-europeenne-des-corps-academiques%E2%80%A6-janvier-1962/

Scarce, with only a single copy in the trade and 3 copies on OCLC (Yale, Michigan, Bibliotheque Nordique), though we strongly suspect the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris also owns one.

Internationale Situationniste. Adresse de l’Internationale situationniste a l’assemblée générale de l’Association internationale des critiques d’art. n.p. [Bruxelles, Belgium]: Internationale Situationniste, n.d. [12 April 1958]. 1 sheet [2 p.]; ill.; 32 x 23 cm. Black text on white stock

This incendiary leaftlet constitutes a violent attack against art critics. Released on April 12, 1958 – only two days prior to an international gathering of art critics at the world’s fair in Brussels, it is signed by A[bdelhafid] Khatib, H[ans] Platschek, W[alter] Korun, G[uy]-E[rnest] Debord, G[iuseppe] Pinot-Gallizio, and A[sger] Jorn on behalf of the Algerian, German, Belgian, French, Italian and Scandinavian sections of the Situationist International. The back of the leaflet states: “La Société sans classe a trouvé ses artistes – Vive l’Internationale Situationniste” (“Classless society has found its artists – Long live the Situationist International!”)

The content of the leaflet is partially reproduced in the first issue of Internationale Situationniste (1958), and further context on the “action in Belgium”, as it is referred to, is provided. We learn that the text of the Situationist proclamation was distributed on various ways: about 30 copies were mailed to art critics, while others were handed in personally. Some critics were reached by telephone and read all or part of the text. Finally, and perhaps most spectacularly, a group forced its way into the Press Club where the critics were being received and threw the leaflets among the audience. Another 1,000 copies of the leaflets were tossed onto sidewalks from a fifth floor window. As a result of this action, SI members were threatened with prosecution. Korun, in particular, faced some legal issues as a result. In spite (or perhaps because) of this, Debord viewed what he referred to as “the battle of Brussells” (Letter to Pinot-Gallizio, 19 April 1958) as a great success

The text of the leaflet, as well as some more detail on its history, can be found at http://debordiana.chez.com/francais/aica.htm and http://debordiana.chez.com/francais/is1.htm#action . For an English translation, see Knabb’s at http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/1.critics.htm

Scarce, with only one copy in the trade and 3 OCLC copies (Yale, the Getty Institute, and the Tate Museum), though we know an additional copy is kept at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, for a total of four known copies.

La Tour de Feu no. 82. Paris, June 1964. 23 x 13.5 cm. Off-white wrappers with text in grey and pink.

A self-described “International Review of Poetry” (“Revue Internationale de Creation Poetique”), La Tour de Feu  features what may be the first article in French about the Internationale Situationniste. While there is evidence of earlier articles in other languages, for instance in Dutch in Forum, we believe that Rene Lourau’s “Le Poete devant les Institutions” is the first (substantial) article written about the movement in France, at least outside the confidential Lettrist/Situ milieu [our friend Ian Thompson appropriately notes that Estivals wrote 11 pages about the SI in Grammes 4 in 1959, while Isou wrote another 136 pages in Poesie Nouvelle 13 the following year)

In this brief article (pp. 123-129), Rene Lourau discusses the oppositional rapport between the Poet and (social, religious, political) institutions, as expressed through form. According to Lourau, a desire to obliterate the very language of poetry – what he sees as”the most extreme extension of the Symbolists’ perspective -begins with the Futurists, ahead of Dada and the Surrealists. The Lettrists and, ultimately, the Situationists follow in their footsteps. Specifically, Lourau mentions the SI’s use of techniques like industrial painting and detournement, as well as their belief in a new urbanism.

A kind reader added the following: “It should also be noted that the S.I. thought little of this article, going so far as to refer to it in the article ‘Pour ne pas comprendre l’I.S’ in issue no. 10 of their journal (page 68): “Et plus mal encore, par exemple, dans l’article élogieux mais inintelligent qu’un lapassadiste, René Lourau, avait cru devoir consacrer à l’I.S. dans le no. 82 de la revue Tour de Feu.” Debord also dismissed Lourau and his article in a letter of 16 May 1966 (reproduced in Debord, Correspondance vol. 3)”

Finally, the article is mentionned in Raspaud & Voyer 141, under the section “quelques echos dans la presse et la librairie”.

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)

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.

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

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.

Internationale Situationniste. Reedition d’articles [Supplement a 4 Millions de Jeunes Travailleurs] Paris: Les Amis de 4 millions de jeunes travailleurs, n.d. [1970] 44 p.;  21 x 15 cm; yellow wrappers with text in black.

Sommaire: Le déclin et la chute de l’économie spectaculaire marchande (I.S. n° 10 mars 1966) – Définition minimum des organisations révolutionnaires (I.S. n° 11 Octobre 1967) – Contribution au programme des conseils ouvriers en Espagne (I.S. n° 10) – Le point d’explosion de l’idéologie en Chine (I.S. n° 11) – Deux guerres locales (I.S. n° 11) – Pour le pouvoir des conseils ouvriers (mai 68) – Adresse à tous les travailleurs (mai 68)

One of many bootleg reprints of articles from Internationale Situationniste. Not common. with no copies found on OCLC

This item is for sale or trade. Please contact me for details

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On Friday, April 17, I had the privilege to partake in a “show-and-tell” session on the Internationale Situationniste. For about 2 hours, Princeton faculty member Thomas Y. Levin (more below) and I showcased some of the most prized items from our respective Situationist collections. The session was held in a beautiful seminar room on the second floor of East Pyne Hall, and was attended by a small group of graduate students and faculty from the Departments of German, French, and English.

Thomas Y. Levin is a Humanist in the best sense of the term. A Professor of German at Princeton, he also serves as the Acting Co-Director of the University’s Program in Media and Modernity. He cultivate a broad range of interests, from Early German and Weimar Cinema to the Rhetorics of Surveillance. His current research focuses on the archaeology of voicemail. But for this Blog’s readers, Thomas Levin is likely best known for his pioneering efforts in researching Guy Debord and the Situationist International, with a focus on the movement’s films. He was involved with the 1989 SI exhibits (held in Paris, Boston, London and Barcelona) and, along with Keith Sanborn, played a pivotal role in making Debord’s film once again available to a (small) public in the United States. Levin was also a friend of Debord, and kept a sustained correspondence with him

Highlights of the show-and-tell included: Three copies of Debord’s “Memoires”, one of which with an original cover comprised of 110 razorblades (the work of Michel Guet); a copy of “Oeuvres Cinematographiques Completes” heavily annotated by Guy Debord; several letters and postcards sent by Guy Debord to Thomas Levin (these can also be found in the last volume of Debord’s “Correspondance”); a framed “Plan Psychogeographique de Paris”; two copies of the journal “Ion” from 1952 (the first time Debord was published); two erotic novels written by Raoul Vaneigem under a pseudonym; original photographs of Debord, and more.

My sincere thanks again to Tom Levin for giving me the chance to share my passion of the SI with young, inquisitive brains, as well as to discover his own amazing collection.