Against Representation: A revolution in front of you
“The representation of the working class radically opposes itself to the working class.”
-Guy Debord, thesis 100 “Society of the Spectacle”
Representation as a form of mediation: fragmentation/separation.
Representation in politics can be seen as a form of delegation. One ceases to take responsibility for certain acts and thoughts relegating it to somebody else who will speak for him or her. In representative democracy an ordinary person does not have the possibility to develop the specific language needed to speak to power or authority.
A separation is created between everyday life and the moments when political decisions are made in the society or community. As Guy Debord pointed out, “representation separates life from experience” similar to the separation of disciplines, the division of labour, and the distinction of work from leisure. As representation is the ultimate medium of artistic practice, it is no wonder Debord and other situationists wanted to supersede art. They desired life without separation. As long as we accept art as a separate discipline it will be more difficult to produce concrete and direct political change through artistic practice. Similarly, to think that political action can only happen in the realm of politics or in the streets, would also be a way of accepting that separation.
A question emerged during a discussion: Who is the political subject today? Where is the political struggle today? Somebody said to have hope in the internet.
Surely many years have passed since the concise criticism of the spectacle by Debord. Capitalism has continued to develop powerful and complex forms of alienation.
The most recent of which surely include forms bio-power and social-networks. People are no longer simply spectators of their lives, but create their reality through the representations available on MySpace & Facebook. Profit flows from people’s sharing of creativity, feelings, emotions and intimate information – all of which is surely very helpful for market researchers, and the police.
All is not that bad on the internet. New realities and ways of working together are being built thanks to the Free Software movement, a very interesting example of how to counter the division between producer and consumer. For the spectacle, consuming is no longer enough, to be connected is necessary. Could this be a more intimate form of separation? What about all those iPhoners being half here, half there? Separation before being connected, separation from oneself?
Now let’s imagine we are in the same room with Gregg Bordowitz. At his talk at the ISP, we were impressed by his attentiveness to what was happening in the room. What type of relations were being built there and then? What type of environments were being created? He managed to create a different type of atmosphere in the space where so many discussions had already taken place. He created perplexity, and he inspired us, making us aware of the politics in the room and certain repressive relations taking place there. Sometimes a revolution is needed in the room.
How much are you willing to engage the situation that you are in?
The possibilities of a revolutionary practice are already in front of us. It is a matter of penetrating the surface of our reality which appears to be so neutral and free of interest. At the same time, we can feel a spectral hand making us behave in a certain way. The hand of the normalization process that does not let things get disrupted. The means to disturb this neutrality might be extremely simple; from talking to making noise, from acting different than usual to being utterly honest, from saying the most intimate things in public to being totally quiet when you should be having fun. To stop being so self-conscious about your reputation could also help. Surely it would mean to give up at least momentarily the restrictions of being the “yourself” of MySpace & Facebook. Why not becoming someone else? Fuck knows who, perhaps The Stranger.
“Sabotage all representation!”
The Invisible committee, “The Coming Insurrection”
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Against Representation: A revolution in front of you
Mattin, NYC, April/May 2009
