The Ludic & Place:
The Situationist Internationals at Play.
Situationist International (SI) was an avant-garde philosophical, artistic, and political organisation, predominantly active during mid – 20th century Paris. It was founded through a mutual concern of the Capitalistic structure which permeated society, particularly in a post-WW-2 France.
It was here that philosopher, creative and key SI member Guy Debord further developed theories supporting his earlier creation of psycho-geography, alongside peers. Dismantlement, or at least an awareness, of the spectacle was key. Debord defined spectacle as the bombardment of graphic representation, which forms a barrier between the public and reality. He regarded this as a deliberate distraction and manipulation tactic created by Capitalism. (Gardiner, 2020) He hoped psycho-geography would pull on the threads of what Surrealism had initiated – “a synthesis of art and everyday life, and the actualisation of the creative potential of each and every human being.” (Gardiner, 2020)
In order to disintegrate the spectacle, there was a tactic called the dérive. With a playful, open-ended and experimental mindset, the idea is to drift through layers of cultural atmosphere to reinvent a sense of place. (Hussey, 2011) It is a process intended to explore a place with spontaneity and automatism.
The dérive is therefore one of several ways in which we can witness the ludic influence that the Surrealism movement had on the SI. This is in conjunction with the seminal book all about the theory of play, Homo Ludens, (Huizinga, 1938) which was also a prominent inspiration for the SI.
It is therefore no surprise that the SI members exhibited creative practice involving play. For Guy Debord, this was manifested into a physical board game The Game of War. [tbc]
Another example of playfulness within the oeuvre of the SI members can be seen in Constant Nieuwenhuys’ (also known as Constant) antidote to Capitalism: New Babylon. Much like Debord’s Game of War, this was a labour of love for Constant. Spanning decades, the concept is manifested through a variety of materials and presentations to audience.
New Babylon is the concept for a speculative city, where restraints of societal expectations are no longer present in the minds of the inhabitants. Basic human needs are automatically catered to and the inhabitants minds carry no imprint of the past to create any concept of guilt for this lifestyle.
“The New Babylonian would therefore be able to devote his life entirely to his own creative development. Homo Faber (“man the maker”) whose daily rhythm and place of residence was determined by his work, would be replaced by Homo Ludens (“man the player”).” (Gemeente Museum Den Haag)
Constant was associating play with an ultimate (and arguably hedonistic) sense of freedom. His inspiration taken from Homo Ludens (1938) is evident throughout his practice, and especially within New Babylon. Whilst discussing play as a societal tool, Huizinga states that “…culture arises in the form of play… It is through this playing that society expresses its interpretation of life and the world.” (Huizinga, 1938)
The future spatial requirements of the inhabitants are also taken into consideration. Seen on the above image are several materials, transparencies and angles. The concept was to have a modular world: easy to re-construct, a reflection of the fluid, spontaneous mindset the New Babylonian society has. It is a reminder of the SI’s hope for a society devoid of the spectacle.