The Cinema of Guy Debord, or Negativity at Work (1952–1978) — Seminar

STUDY DAY

(As part of the event curated by Fabien Danesi, taking place February 7–9, which includes a retrospective of Guy Debord’s films)

The Impossible Legacy of the Situationist International and Guy Debord In his final film from 1978, *In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni*, Guy Debord recalled that the intention of the Situationist International “had been nothing other than to reveal in practice a dividing line between those who still want what exists, and those who will no longer want it .” In doing so, he dismissed any intellectual approach to the actions of the revolutionary collective that did not embrace its concrete demand: the overthrow of society. Thirty years later, however, the group has become a subject of study and has been assimilated into the cultural sphere. What can be said about this phenomenon? Is this an insidious form of co-optation, or a legitimate integration into a history that continues to be written?

9:30 a.m. Welcome Remarks: Richard Peduzzi, Director of the French Academy in Rome

Introduction: Fabien Danesi (French Academy in Rome) Evgenia Théodoropoulou (Ph.D. candidate at the University of Paris 1) The Total Art of the Situationist International, or the Experimental Perspective of Action Anna Trespeuch (Ph.D. candidate at the University of Paris 1) The Legitimization of the Situationist International (May 1968–May 1981) Christophe Bourseiller (Professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies) Honey and Bees: The Question of Legacy (1980–2008)

3:00 p.m. Anselm Jappe (professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Frosinone) The Coherence of Theory—The Influence of the Situationists on Certain Other Forms of Radical Criticism Francesca Comisso (Gallizio Archives, Turin) Antibrevetto, antimondo, ensemble. Reflections on Some of Pinot-Gallizio’s Key Terms as Indicators of Current Practices Maria Rosa Sossai (art critic and independent curator) The Practice of Détournement in Contemporary Artist Film Enrico Ghezzi (Fuori Orario, Blob – Rai Tre) Invisibly in Favor of What