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Ori gi nal i tyandMagni tude(onIsou' s
System)
AsgerJorn
InternationaleSituationniste#4(June1960)
TranslatedbyFabianTompsett
YesterdayItoldyouI'ddiscoveredthesecretof
eternalyouth...ButIwaswrongIgotthe
culturesmixedup.Everythingisasitwas
before,andIevenwonderifitmightbegoing
againstthelawsofnaturetowanttoprevent
manfromlosinghisyouth...
InNo.10ofPosieNouvelle(FirstTrimester,1960),IsidoreIsou,refutingthe
writingsofoneofhisfriendsfromarecentperiod,whomhesoberlycallsXin
ordernottogivehimunmeritedpublicity,declares:
OneoftheshabbiestliesoftheauthorofGrammesistospeakof
mygeneralphilosophicalsystemwhena)Ihaveneverpublished
thissystem,andb)Xisneitheraprophetorcartomancerofthe
future.
Ifanumberofmycomradeswhoworkedwithmeovertheyears,
fromPomerandtoLematre,havetriedtodivinethegeneral
system(andlackingthepossibilitytheyhaveatleastthehonesty
toholdtheirtongueonthisquestion),howcouldZ,whoscarcely
knowsme,beabletoknowit?...TheuniquethingthatMr.
Grammescouldknowofmyintellectualorderisthatitaccordsto
thecreationsofeachdomainanessentialdeterminedvalue,in
relationtoothervalues.Butitisthiswhichmakesthesuccessive
Xswho,havingknownme,havenoothersupremedesirethanto
becomecreators.ThustheuniqueilluminationthatXhasofmy
systemendsathisconsciousorunconsciousefforttofollowit,
justwhentheignoranceofthewholeofthesystemleadshimto
therealincapacitytocreateandtheobligationtoreplacethis
creationwiththetittletattleandlyingpretensionsaboutthatwhich
heknowsnothing...Itisonlybyacceptingthecreativehierarchyof
theonlymovementofthecontemporaryavantgardegiventhe
generalnameLettrismbycandidlyassimilatingtheinnovating
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truthoftheimmediatepastandpresent,byopenlyrecognizingthe
formsoffutureevolutionoftheaestheticdisciplinesthatwilltruly
bebornforthehistoryofcultureandfortheplaceofeachauthor
inthishistory.(ItalicsbyA.J.)
Isousargumentisconstructedaroundafundamentalerroraccordingtowhich
theknowledgeofasystemisonlypossibleafteryouhavebecomeacquainted
withalltheconsequencesofthesystemanideawhichispushedtothe
extremebyrevealingthesystemthroughthetestimonyoftheinitiatory
individualaccount,andtheimportancegiventotheparticularusagethatthe
mastercanmakeofhisownsystem.Infactthesystemisamethod.Itisthe
methodofthecoordinationofpositions,ofstates.And,asthepositionsdont
change,thesystem,orthepositionalmethods,arealwaysrevealedby
analyzingacombinationtakenatrandominthesystem.
Isoussystemisnotascientificsystem,astherearenolongeranyscientific
systems.IfIsoussystemhadbeenascientificsystem,itcouldnotbeIsous
system,butonlytheapplicationofthesystembyIsouinagivendomain.Isous
systemnecessitatesIsou.Itisasystemofrelationsbetweensubjectand
object.Thissystemisanoutlook.Youdonthavetobeaprophetora
cartomancertoworkthatoutyoujusthavetobecompletelydetached.Idont
knowIsou,andImstartingtobeacquaintedwithhissystem.Theorderin
whichhearrangeshistoriceventsisanextremelyamusingandinteresting
thing,perfectlynewintheEuropeanoutlook:hemeasuresallvaluesaccording
toChineseperspective,justasvalueshavebeenmeasuredaccordingtoa
centralperspectivesincetherenaissance.
ChinesePerspectiveandWesternPerspective(thearrowintherectangle
indicatesthenormalpathofthegaze).
Itistodayawellknownfactthattimeisadimensionlikeanyother,tobe
treatedlikethoseofspace.Existentialismisopposedtotheclassicsystemby
pretendingthattheinstantisauniquevalue.Isouopposesthisbyestablishing
alittlerangeofvaluesbetweentheimmediatepastandthepresent(which
todayisIsou).Isouisplacedasamagnitudeinhisownperspective.Thosewho
goinforthis,withtheobligatoryslownessoffollowersofwhathasalreadybeen
madebyIsou,aresmaller,anddiminishfromLematretoPomerand,tofinally
arriveatthezeropoint,wherewefindthepoorMrX,whoaccordingtoIsous
system,isthenothingofeverything,thenullity,thehistoricnonplace(butthis
isthehistoricnonplaceofthehistoricspaceofIsou,whichexplainsthe
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importanceIsougivestotherepeateddescriptionofthisnothingness,this
personificationisanonymous).Ifthelinesofperspectiveareprolongedbeyond
thezeropoint,historyisexpandedonceagaintowardsthepreIsouianpast,
andthemorethemagnitudesareexpandedinthepast,themoretheyare
acceptedbyIsouwithoutcriticism,andcharacterizedaccordingtotheir
awkwardlyscholasticreputations(Homer,Descartesetc.).Thisisthehierarchic
orderofIsouasregardsthepastandasregardsthefuture,whereinanycase
hereckonsacentralcreativeplacewillcometoberecognizedforeternity,he
willexpectthatanevengreatersystemwillreplaceit,andatthesametime
confirmit.Inordertobetterestablishthepossibilitiesofthepreservationofa
sectionoftheavantgarde,hegoesalongwiththeBretonsfamousformula
aboutthebirthofamoreemancipatorymovement.Nothingismore
comfortablethantowaitforsuccessors,becausethesuccessionisnotpassed
onbyadirectline,butthroughcontradiction.
Isou'sChinesePerspective.
HavingthusclarifiedIsoussystemofvalorization,anessentialproblemmust
nowbeposed:isitmoreofareligioussystemthananartisticone?Itmustbe
becauseheisunabletomakeadecisiononthispointthatIsouhasnotyet
publishedthefinalwordinhissystem.Fromreadingthedevelopmentofhis
thoughtfromtheaccessiblematerial,itseemsthattherecanbediscerneda
slippagebywhichthereligiousandculturalsidemoreandmorereplacethe
artistichierarchicaspectbecomesmoreimportantthanthemovementof
Chineseperspective.
Inordertobeoriented,andfromthisfacttocalibrate,inanyparticular
dimension,itisalwaysnecessarytofindazeropoint,thepointofdepartureor
origin,whenceproceedsallgraduation.Butthequestionisposedhere:is
IsouszeropointfixedinhistoryinthesamewaythatthebirthofChristisfixed
astheoriginofourcalendar.Isouthusbecomesforevergreaterashemoves
forwardintime.Equally,ishisChineseperspectivehistoricallydisplaced
throughtime?Inthiscase,Isouwillcometobediminishedmoreandmorein
ordertobecomethezeropointofanewavantgarde,andonlyafterwardswill
heaccedetotheaggrandisementofthepast.Thusthequestionisrestated:
couldIsoussystembeemployedasamethodbyothers?Thiswouldincrease
theimportanceofthesystem,butmustthendiminishtheimportanceofhis
personage.Theimpressionisthatitwouldbenefitfromtwoadvantages,but
thisisimpossiblewithoutthewholeunhappysystembeingdestroyedand
renewed.Thiseventualitycannotbetheoreticallyexcluded.Isouwascloseto
suchadiscoveryinhisrecentreflectionsonprodigality,bywhichhefound
himselfobligedtorecognisethesuperiorityofthesituationistpracticesoverthe
lettristsystem.Theunresolvedproblemonthisreligiousquestion,andthe
doublegamewhichnecessarilyarosefromit,hascontributedtotheveryquick
dissolutionoftheavantgardegatheredaroundIsoucirca1950.Thisisfound,
degradedtofarceintheeternaldiscussionofIsouwithMauriceLematrewho
foryearsconstitutedIsouslettristgroupallonhisown(cf.thesameissueof
LaPosieNouvelle).
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TheDualPerspectiveofClassicalEurope.
ThedisasterofIsoussystemistoplacethezeropointasadivinepointinthe
past,asmuchasplacinghimselfasasacredobject.Itisnotbychancethatthe
ChineseperspectiveisfoundinanideologysecretlyheldbyBuddhism.In
contrast,theclassicsystemplacesthedivinezeropointatthecenterofthe
perspectiveofthefuture,andthesacredintheantiworldradiatingtowards
infinity,beyondtheextremepointofreality.Theartisticbearingisa
systematizationoffactswhichthemselvesignorethesystem.Whenthisis
unveiled,established,theartisticvalueisalwayspursuedelsewhere(the
innocentvisionisinvertedinprinciple).Inthesamewayastherichlettrist
researches(inthecommonsenseoftheword)ofmanuscriptsfromtheendof
themiddleageshavebeeneliminatedbyprinting(quantitativedistributionof
writingthroughtheeliminationofvariations),sotheluckyfind,bythe
renaissance,ofthecentralperspectivehasradicallyfinishedChristianart,of
whichthevariableswereeliminatedbythisorganisationtypeofChristian
space.Ineffect,thecentralperspective,ifitistransposedontothedimensionof
time,exactlyrepresentsChristianmetaphysics,thebeyondbeinginthe
imaginaryfuture,markedoutbytwosuccessivepoints:deathandJudgement
Day.Theutopianshadplacestheirperspectiveontheearth(inthehistoric
future),andtheartisticinspirationofmoderntimesisessentiallyafuturist
utopianism.
IsousChineseperspectivecouldthereforebecomparedtotheMezero(divine
sacredidentity)perspective,theoutlookofradiatingsubjectivityofVilhelm
BjerkePetersen,sotypicalofScandinavianthought.TheadvantagesofIsous
systemcanbeseenonthisterrain.Intheend,amodernperspectivecouldbe
invokedwhichconsideredthequalitativedevelopmentofmagnitude.Thisisthe
purelyscientificoutlook,characterisedbyitspointoforigininthepast,thezero
pointatthebeginningoftime.Inthisoutlookthatweactuallyfindconfirmedat
thecosmiclevelwiththetheoryoftheexpandinguniverse.Scientificsocialism
islinkedtothisoutlook.Butoverallthisquestionissovastbecausethereare
manyoutlookswhichhavenowbeencreated.
V.BjerkePetersen'sPerspective(themysticalopticsofthepastpresent
futureidentity)
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Isousreligiousproblemiscomplicatedbyaperplexityonthefollowingtheme:I
amgod,seeingashowgodisyouthseeingashowIamIsou,thepointof
origin.Hemustchoosebetweenpersonaloriginalityandthatofthesystem
whichhehascreatedandwhichautomaticallyexcludeshimfromthesphereof
originalityattheendofyouth.ThereservationswhichIsouhasasregardshis
ownsystemareeasilyexplained.Heisageing,myfriend!
Thedivinisationoftheimmediatepastisthedivinisationoftheaged(theolder
generation),whichisassociated,throughthedynamicuseofIsousChinese
perspective,withhisconceptofholyyouth.(Westartacareer...).Thusthe
agedIsouseesthenewyouthstarttooverthrowhiminvirtueofhisown
system,andhefleestoamoreassuredplace,protectedbythebooksof
Breton.Thedramaunfolds,itssimplythatLettrismhassupersededsurrealism.
Inthiswayitwillretiretoclaimitspartinliteraryimmortality.Whatgaiety!Holy
youth!Itreturnsallthetime,anditisalwaysthesame.Iexposedthisgimmick
inLaRouedelaFortunein1948.
Itistimetobecomeawareofthedrawbacksofallthesystemsofperspective
derivedfromclassicalgeometry.Manyerrorsarisefromamajorillusionof
modernsavants:adistinctionbetweenclassicalandmoderngeometrywas
madeinthebeliefthattheautonomyofclassicalgeometrycouldbesaved,and
thatitcouldbetaughtasgeometryandthatwhichhadsupersededitwere
simultaneouslytrue.InthegeometryofEuclid,andthishasbeentransmittedto
thenonEuclideansystems,thepointisdefinedasaspatiallocationwithno
spatialdimension.Thisomitsthefactthatthepoint,bereftofspatial
dimensions,stillrepresentsthetemporaldimension,thankstoitsduration.The
pointthusintroducesthedimensionoftimeintospatialorganisation,whichis
thebasisofanewelementarygeometry.(Itisthisnewstudyofthepointwhich
enablesthesituationtobeunderstoodasaspatialtemporalworkalientothe
oldpropertiesofart).Whenthepointisconsideredasapureidea,geometryis
infectedwithmetaphysicsandlendsitselftotheemptiestconstructionsof
metaphysics.Nothingisleftofit.
HumancreationdoesnotresemblethissortofFrenchgarden,suchasIsou
wouldwanttoembellish,thecentreofwhichhebelieveshewillcometo
definitivelyoccupy,simplybecause,preachinguntiringlyintheemptiness,he
foresees(inhisownwords,theopeningofanewamplic)thecompletely
symmetricalreproductionoftheothersideofIsou.