The Situationists were a revolutionary group formed in Europe during the 1950s. They were principally concerned with the position of art within society; aiming to transform perceptions of art and encourage people to accept it as a part of everyday life. The group were called The Situationists quite simply because they believed that someone’s behaviour and way of living is determined largely by his or her situation. The members of the group were among some of the first to challenge the idea of modern Capitalism and shared the belief that the system merely stifled people’s creativity. In an ideal world, the Situations believed that everybody would have the freedom to create art. Initially, the group applied their criticisms mainly to the cultural aspects of society, but eventually they became concerned with all elements of Capitalism. In place of Capitalism, they favoured a Communistic society in which money, class and labour would cease to exist.
To begin with, the group was mostly made up of artists. Eventually, Guy Debord (French philosopher, Marxist and filmmaker) emerged as a key figure among the members. Debord had previously formed a similar radical group called the Letterist International – many members of which went on to join the Situationists.
The key tactic of the Situationists was to disrupt the normal order of things in an attempt to encourage individualism and to push people to see past their constructed ways of thinking and behaving. They were not against physical acts of expression, often supporting strikes, sabotage and vandalism – gestures which were considered signs of creativity.
Following disputes over tactics, the group came to an end in 1972. However, their views continued to influence Anarchist and Feminist groups, as well as other cultural movements like the Punk Rock era.
In a similar way to the Situationists, I want my work to emphasise that art and everyday life can very much exist hand-in-hand. There doesn’t need to be a separation between the two, and something certainly doesn’t need to be stereotypically beautiful to become an artistic expression. It’s very easy to forget that art is all around us when we’re going about our fast-paced lives. Similarly, it’s easy to assume that photographs should be reserved for ‘beautiful’ things, like sunsets and holidays and flowers – things we post on our Instagram feeds because we want our lives to look aesthetic and significant. I want to remind people of the art and beauty in the simple, everyday things that are all around us.
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