richard-day-gramsci-is-dead

22 Gramsci is Dead‘preexisting aesthetic elements’ into a ‘superior construction of amilieu’ (Knabb 1981: 45–6). In everyday terms, détournement involvestaking images and text from mainstream media and subvertingthem for other ends. The Situationist International’s journal madecopious use of this technique, sometimes succeeding in its criticalintent, at others failing to adequately distance itself from spectacularrepresentations. 4 Echoing this call for radical cultural-politicalcritique, but with a broader critical awareness, a contemporary websitedevoted to billboard subversion declares that ‘[w]e can turn the tableson capitalism if we recognize that we can all be artists—if we don’tcompete, but play, play hard and play seriously’ (urban75 2003).Most diverted advertisements do not take on constituted powersdirectly, for example by proclaiming that ‘Capitalism Sucks!’, butwork to subvert its attempts to (re)define everyday spaces, values,and subjectivities. The skilful détournement of a billboard, then,can be seen as a form of direct action based on the construction ofsituations, and can be extended beyond the critique of spectacularcommodity relations to include racism, heterosexism, technophiliaand the military industrial complex. Some of the more interestingwork in this regard can be viewed at the website of the ironicallynamed California Department of Corrections, which has taken upthe task of remedying some of the many deficiencies to be found instate and corporate advertising. 5Finally, it is important to point out that, unlike their marxistprecursors, today’s ‘situationists’ do not see themselves as an artisticrevolutionaryavant-garde with a select membership. Rather, billboardliberation is dispersed as a non-branded tactic open to all. TheBillboard Liberation Front (BLF) website, for example, contains anonline manual entitled The Art & Science of Billboard Improvement (BLF2004a), which describes in detail the tools, methods and precautionsnecessary for carrying out successful actions. The BLF Manifesto,taking a characteristically ironical tone, makes clear the desire forwide dispersal of the billboard liberation tactic:Our ultimate goal is nothing short of a personal and singular Billboard foreach citizen. Until that glorious day for global communications when everyman, woman and child can scream at or sing to the world in 100Pt. typefrom their very own rooftop; until that day we will continue to do all in ourpower to encourage the masses to use any means possible to commandeerthe existing media and to alter it to their own design. (BLF 2004b)