Mash-Ups and the Situationist International

Through the twentieth century art movements have criticized the passive way in which art is consumed, and the exclusiity of the art world. Groups like the Dadaists and the Surrealists subverted the traditional European notions of what art was to bring about a revolutionary dialogue, between artists and viewers. The project was inherently political. Many Dadaiss and surrealists were either affiliated with anarchist or communist groups. The structure of art was seen as a part of the capitalist system. Building on these movements was an artistic group known as the Situationist International. The SI were instrumental in bringing about the Paris riots of 1968. Interestingly enough, many of their ideas have shown up (without their political context) in the world of new media. The most prominent of these ideas is what the SI called "détournement" (literally hijacking). This meant that by putting disparate objects together, their meaning was transformed. The SI commonly used American comic books, changing the dialogue into revolutionary theory. Guy Debord, the founder of the SI was known for making films composed mainly of preexisting footage (transformed radically by context.) What is fascinating is that this has become a standard thing on the internet. The mash-up has become common place, leading to a consequent rethinking of intellectual property. The question is whether the revolutionary potential the SI saw in détournement is real, or if it is simply another new form of art, that like the Dadaist and Surrealist techniques will be absorbed by the establishment. The other possibility is that the revolutionary potential of a medium is dependent on the intent behind it, not necessarily inherent in the medium itself, and any hopes for a "revolutionary" art are misguided.