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For my third and last post on the lithographs published by Situationist Times in 1967, I�d like to look at the surprising number of artists from Latin America who were involved. At a guess, this reflects the influence of the Haitian artist Herv� T�l�maque (see previous post), who was a very active mover and shaker on the Paris avant-garde scene, though the list of artists also includes two giants from an earlier generation, the Surrealists Wifredo Lam and Roberto Matta. Jos� Gamarra (Uraguayan, 1934- ) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1967 Mariano Hernandez (Spanish/Argentinian, 1928- ) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1967 Wifredo Lam (Cuban, 1902-1982) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1967 Wifredo Lam Surrealist composition Lithograph, 1979 Lea Lublin (Argentinian, 1929-1999) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1967 Alejandro Marcos (Spanish/Argentinian, 1937- ) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1967 Cristina Martinez (Argentinian, 1938- ) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1967 Roberto Ma

The Paris-based Pop Art movement La Figuration Narrative (which overlaps with and is hard to distinguish from the similarly-named grouping La Nouvelle Figuration) had fallen into obscurity until recently, when it has been the subject of several books�notably La Figuration narrative by G�rald Gassiot-Talabot (2003) and La Figuration narrative by Jean-Louis Pradel (2008)�and a major exhibition at the Grand Palais in 2008, Figuration narrative�Paris, 1960-1972, with an accompanying catalogue of the same title. Bernard Rancillac (French, 1931- ) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1964 Herv� T�l�maque (Haitian, 1937- ) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1964 Herv� T�l�maque Untitled composition Lithograph, 1979 Herv� T�l�maque L'�nigme Lithograph, 1982 Key figures incude Ren� Bertholo, Peter Klasen, Bernard Rancillac, and Herv� T�l�maque. Following on from my previous post, all the lithographs in this post dated 1967 come from issue 6 of Situationist Times. But as I have other works by Ber

The Situationist International was a loose affiliation of European political radicals, socialists and anarchists, which existed between 1957 and 1972. The two leading Situationists were the philosopher Guy Debord (author of The Society of the Spectacle) and the Danish artist Asger Jorn. Although they were a small, fringe group, the Situationists had a profound affect on the European counterculture and the development of avant-garde art in the 1960s�much more so than the superficially similar Yippies in the USA. The essential aim of Situationism is neatly summed up in the title of the Situationist manifesto published by the Scottish writer Alex Trocchi in 1962, Invisible insurrection of a million minds. Or, in the words of a famous graffito that appeared on Paris walls during the �v�nements of May 1968, �Be realistic�demand the impossible!� Asger Jorn (Danish, 1914-1973) Untitled composition Lithograph, 1967 Despite the importance of Asger Jorn to the movement, the Situationists were mo

My last post about Max Klinger reminded me that I have some very exciting lithographs by Andr� Masson on the same theme of the myth of Sisyphus. They were made in 1962 for an edition of Le mythe de Sisyphe by Albert Camus. The lithographs were printed on pearly Japon nacr� paper by Mourlot, in an edition of 200 copies. The book was printed in an edition of 5000 copies, all on Arches wove paper. The 200 suites also had an additional print (the first illustrated in this post), not included in the books, and hand-signed by Andr� Masson. Mine is justified 46/200. Andr� Masson, Sisyphe Lithograph, 1962 Andr� Masson, The myth of Sisyphus I Lithograph, 1962 Andr� Masson, The myth of Sisyphus II Lithograph, 1962 Andr� Masson, The myth of Sisyphus III Lithograph, 1962 Andr� Masson, The myth of Sisyphus IV Lithograph, 1962 Andr� Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Th�rain in France, but brought up in Belgium. He studied in Brussels and at the Beaux-Arts, Paris. He was seriously injured fighting for F

This print by the German Symbolist Max Klinger was published in 1914 by Verlag E. A. Seemann, under the title Die Fakult�ten. Max Klinger, Die Fakult�ten Etching with aquatint, 1914 As I understand it (and my German is very shaky), this means Faculties as in the Faculties of a University, rather than human faculties, or even the Four Faculties of the Greek physician Galen. Which would mean that the ladies sitting on the rock represent Theology, Law, Medicine, and the Arts. The naked male figure is evidently Sisyphus, and the etching appears now to be generally known as Sisyphus, oder Die Fakult�ten. Does anybody have a clue why Klinger should associate Sisyphus particularly with these female figures? Of course everybody feels that much of life is like pushing a rock endlessly uphill, only to have it roll back down just as you reach the brow, but I just don't understand the symbolism here.