Reynolds 2-16-11

Debord & Bourriaud Blog

Social theorist and Situational International founder Guy-Ernst Debord’s heady and intellectual in depth essay Methods of Detournement was challenging. It was necessary to research his ideas to understand his theories. The dictionary defines Detournement as, “a variation on a previous media work, in which the newly created media work has a meaning antagonistic or antithetical to the original. The original work that is detourmed must be somewhat familiar to the target audience, so that it can appreciate the opposition of the new message. The artist making the variation can reuse only some of the characteristics of the originating work.” In English the word means “turnabout” or “derailment”. After reading this definition what came to mind first were memes and Culture jamming. Memes can be antagonist to their prototype and in a round about way socially motivating, but not always. Culture jamming is definitely derailing and cultural activism, and activism was precisely Debord’s goal. Debord’s Situationalist work is Marxesque and serious, with intent to wake-up the capitalist public from being duped by government or large corporations propaganda through their use of the “power of the image to persuade”. He felt as human beings and individuals we just watched these images of supposed truth as spectators, then as good consumers just swallowed. He felt that the obedient public, the spectators, should take “control of the images” and use them as a counterattack.

In his essay he defined the usage of minor detournements and deceptive detournements. Minor detournements are factors that are not necessarily considered important by themselves: press clippings or a picture taken from a camera however used in a new context they can be effective in changing peoples minds. Deceptive detournement utilizes already significant factors such a well know political text, famous art work or literature which become even more powerful in a new context.

Watching the black and white 1973 film clip of The Society of Spectacle was eerie and fascinating. It was strange to go back in time and feel the energy of the 70’s perspective. Listening to the French language lent it more authenticity. It seemed so automatized and stylized, at times staccato then flat. It felt unreal, superficial, and the essence of blind consumerism, the consumer is being consumed. You are what you eat, you are what you buy and its all twisted together to form another reality.

Postproduction. Culture as Screenplay: How Art Reprograms the World is an essay by French writer and curator Nicolas Bourriaud. Basically, Bourriaud’s essay is about remixing, alterations in multidisciplinary media. He says because of the tremendous amount of artistic material it is almost exponential as far as the creation of new media art. In this following website I found a very concise and easier to understand synthesis of some of his thoughts regarding Dadaism, Marxism and philosophy.

http://dada2data.blogspot.com/2008/01/nicolas-bourriaud-postproduction-page.html

He comments on the art of DJing and how the mixing of music is like the mixing of artistic expression.