Playmates and Playboys at a Higher Level: JV Martin and the Situationist International

by Mikkel Bolt Rasmussen

While the actions and writings of the French, Italian and German situationists have received quite a lot of attention during the last 10 to 15 years, the actions of the Danish section remain largely unevaluated. This is peculiar since a number of Danish artists like Asger Jorn, Jørgen Nash, J. V. Martin and Peter Laugesen were members of this artistic-political organization, which devoted its existence to the realization of nothing less than a mental revolution. Danish painter J. V. Martin, after the infamous split in the Situationist International in 1962, was unexpectedly put in charge of the group’s Scandinavian section. This pocket-sized reader, edited by art historian and political theorist Mikkel Bolt Rasmussen, who is known for his books on revolutionary traditions in modern art, is the first presentation of Martin’s writings and paintings within the SI, in which he would remain a member until the group’s dissolution in 1972.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Mikkel Bolt Rasmussen is an art historian and theorists working on the politics and history of the avant-garde, the politics of contemporary art and the revolutionary tradition. He is associate professor at the University of Copenhagen.