THE SITUATIONISTS FROM DRAKABYGGET, THE SPIRAL LABYRINTH AND THE SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL (1963)

The Situationists from Drakabygget, The Spiral Labyrinth and The Situationist International

Jens Jorgen Thorsen (Denmark),

Jorgen Nash (Denmark),

Hardy Strid (Sweden),

Ambrosius Fjord (Norway)

The spiral labyrinth satirises the exhausted theses of the Situationist International and at the same time is a departure pointing to the future direction of the Drakabygget Situationists. The first Situationist International was a naive organisation that always regarded the revolutionaries at Drakabygget with suspicion, for those at Drakabygget were the most radical. They wanted to realise that which others had only talked about. Grounding the international situationist movement in an experimental centre was the subject of much discussion. But when the Danish writer, sculptor and farmer, Jorgen Nash made his farmhouse at Hallandsasen available to the situationists as a Bauhaus, the Parisian situationists were gripped by a certain panic. On their own initiative the French decided to break-off all connections with Drakabygget : Group Spur in Munich ; Jacqueline de Jong, editor of The Situationist Times, in Holland ; Ansger Elde and Hardy Strid from Sweeden ; Patric O'Brien from Ireland ; Gorden Fazakerley from London and Ambrosius Fjord from Norway. Pinot Gallizio from Italy was also condemned as his 'centro sperimentale' in Alba was given the brush-off. In protest Asger Jorn resigned.

After their expulsion the Drakabygget Situationists achieved more in five months than the first Situationist International achieved in five years. The second Situationist International was founded by Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, English, Germans, Iranian-Australians, Americans, French and Turks. Three newspapers and five manifestos were published, and the exhibition 'Seven Rebels' in Odense was warmly received in the Danish press. The exhibition 'Seven Rebels' was put on in Goteborg, a film project was initiated in Munich, a conference was held in Stockholm, the centre at Hallandsasen was extended to a second farm 'Karnabygget', and the exhibition 'Co-Ritus' in Copenhagen was discussed in lead-articles in the Danish daily press and far beyond the borders of Scandinavia. The spiral labyrinth showed the dogmatic French that a plan can have very good labyrinthine qualities without being confusing. Those wishing for interpenetration were entwined by the labyrinth, but for those who did not…escape was always possible.

In this way the spiral labyrinth also distinguished itself from Hegel's spiral which functioned as a symbol of development within the theory of situationism (Asger Jorn). Hegel's labyrinth always moved towards the outside like an endless screw and thereby converted a universal image of development into the image of eternal imprisonment.

Our spiral labyrinth presents the possibility of collaboration. Anyone in 'Co-Ritus' who did not wish to participate in the creative game could always leave.

The following group manifesto was written to accompany the Facett 63 show at Malmö Townhall. This version, taken from Drakabygget No.4/5, has been translated from the German by Josephine Berry