Debord
| Guy Louis Debord | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
December 28, 1931 Paris, France |
| Died | November 30, 1994 (aged 62) Bellevue-la-Montagne, Haute-Loire, France |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| School |
Western Marxism Letterist International Situationist |
|
Main interests
|
Social theory Reification Commodity fetishism Class struggle Social alienation |
|
Notable ideas
|
Spectacle Détournement Psychogeography Dérive Recuperation |
|
Influences
|
|
|
Influenced
|
|
| Signature | |
 |
|
Guy Louis Debord (French: [gi dəbɔʁ]; December 28, 1931 – November 30, 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationist International (SI). He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie.
Guy Debord was born in Paris in 1931. Debord's father, Martial, was a pharmacist who died due to illness when Debord was young. Debord's mother, Paulette Rossi, sent Guy to live with his grandmother in her family villa in Italy. During World War II, the Rossis left the villa and began to travel from town to town. As a result, Debord attended high school in Cannes, where he began his interest in film and vandalism. As a young man, Debord actively opposed the French war in Algeria and joined in demonstrations in Paris against it. Debord studied Law at the University of Paris, but left early and did not complete his university education. After ending his stint at the University of Paris, he began his career as a writer.
Debord joined the Letterist International when he was 19. The Letterists were led dictatorially by Isidore Isou until a widely agreed upon schism ended Isou's authority. This schism gave rise to several factions of Letterists, one of which was decidedly led by Debord upon Gil Wolman's unequivocal recommendation. In the 1960s, Debord led the Situationist International group, which influenced the Paris Uprising of 1968. Some consider his book The Society of the Spectacle (1967) to be a catalyst for the uprising.
In 1957, the Letterist International, the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus, and the London Psychogeographical Association gathered in Cosio d'Arroscia (Cuneo), Italy, to found the Situationist International, with Debord having been the leading representative of the Letterist delegation. Initially made up of a number of well-known artists such as Asger Jorn and Pinot Gallizio, the early days of the SI were heavily focused on the formulation of a critique of art, which would serve as a foundation for the group's future entrance into further political critiques. The SI was known for a number of its interventions in the art world, which included one raid against an international art conference in Belgium during 1958 that included a large pamphlet drop and significant media coverage, all of which culminated in the arrest of various situationists and sympathizers associated with the scandal. In addition to this action, the SI endeavored to formulate industrial painting, or, painting prepared en masse with the intent of defaming the original value largely associated with the art of the period. In the course of these actions, Debord was heavily involved in the planning and logistical work associated with preparing these interventions, as well as the work for Internationale Situationniste associated with theoretical defense of the Situationist International's actions.
...
Wikipedia