Workshop for Non-Linear Architecture: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|British experimental artist and psychogeography collective}}

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The '''Workshop for Non-Linear Architecture''' ('''WNLA''') was the name given to a group of experimental artists and [[Psychogeography|Psychogeographerspsychogeographers]]. The group was active in parts of [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] (sections that existed in bothand [[Glasgow]] and [[London]]) during the 1990s. InformedBased to a large degree byon the urban practices of the [[Paris]]-based [[Lettriste Internationale]] (1952–1957), the workshop focused its practice on developing the [[LetteristLettrism|Lettrist]] theory of [[Unitary Urbanism]]. The development of the theory was donedeveloped through physical research and behavioral intervention. This redefined the [https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/psychogeography psychogeographical] terrain of the cityscape in relation to its emotive

The artist [[Ralph Rumney]] (1934-2002), who had known many of the original Parisian leaders, participated in one of the groups derived in London in 1995. He is credited with bringing the activities of the workshop to a wider audience. The workshop appears to have disbanded shortly after the release of the fourth and final issue of its journal "Viscosity." The journal is now infamous for having been selected by the [[K Foundation]] to announce their 23-year ban on all artistic practices.

British cultural commentator and activist [https://www.stewarthomesociety.org/ Stewart Home] became a champion of their unrestrained adventurism. Including excerpts from the journal and an alluring taste of the type of works undertaken. These were present in a series of edited collections published by [https://serpentstail.com/ Serpent's Tail].

"The Joker, the incidental game of urban poker", was printed in "[https://interactive.wttw.com/great-american-read/books/mind-invaders Mind Invaders]". It describes a game of poker played between cities from playing cards found in the street. "St Andrews Arena" appeared in the collection "[[Suspect Device]]". It narrates one particular derive that took place in [[Glasgow]] in 1993. Other references to the workshop's activities have appeared in articles by Home, notably in the journal ''Variant''.<ref>[Home, Stewart. "[https://articles.bplans.com/theres-no-success-like-failure/ There's no success like failure]", ''Variant'', Volume 2 Number 1 (Winter 1996), p18 Home, Stewart. "Mondo Mythopoesis", ''Variant'', Volume 2 Number 2 (Spring 1997), p7]</ref>

==History==

{{More citations needed section|date=March 2021}}

During its two2-year 'Psychogeographical Survey of Glasgow' (1992–1994), the group concentrated on refiningimproving the interplayrelationship between the [[Lettrism|Letterist]] (and later [[Situationist International|Situationist]]) techniques of derived"taken" and constructed"built" situations. The outcome, described in the essay "Programmed and constructedConstructed driftingDrifting; the eventEvent architecturesArchitectures of [[Unitary urbanism#:~:text=Unitary urbanism (UU) was the, International between 1953 and 1960.|Unitary Urbanism]]" (''Viscosity'' No.3 Glasgow, Jan 1994), highlighted the falseunnecessary separation betweenof these two classic Situationist tools and their [https://www.thefreedictionary.com/indivisibility#:~:text=1.,bil%E2%80%B2i%C2%B7ty%20n. indivisibility] in practice. The techniques were initially borrowed from the constrained writing techniques of the [[Oulipo]], where the pure flow of an otherwise unrestrictedfree ''[[dérive]]'' is directed in its apparent randomness (and given an element of control over its protagonists) by applying [[parameter]]s. The behavioral [[algorithm]]s employed by WNLA range from elaborate "drifting machines" that are carried across the terrainland and deployed at regular intervals to generate recursiverepeating instructions for movement (non-linear feedback loops), to the simple "anywhere" hitchhiking sign, a regular sight in the summer of 1993, being held aloft on the westbound pavement of the bridge on The M8's Great Western Road.

Artist [[Ralph Rumney]] (1934–2002) is credited with bringing the workshop's activities to a wider audience. He was acquainted with many of the original Parisian Letterists and participated in one of the group's ''dérives'' in London in 1995. It was assumed that WNLA had disbanded shortly after releasing the fourth and final issue of its journal ''Viscosity'', which is (now infamous for being selected by the [[K Foundation]] to announce its 23-year moratoriumban on all artistic practice). However, the journal suggests that the moratoriumtemporary ban applied to the K Foundation and WNLA itself, with the group committing to stop mediatingintervening in their activities entirely until 2018.

British cultural commentator and activist [[Stewart Home]] became a champion of WNLA's ludic adventurism, including excerpts from the journal and the type of works undertaken in a series of edited collections published by [[Serpent's Tail]]. References to the workshop's activities have appeared in "The Joker: A Game of Incidental Urban Poker" and were printed in ''Mind Invaders,'' describing a game of poker played between cities from playing cards found in the street. "St. Andrews Arena" appears in the collection ''Suspect Device'' and narrates one particular ''dérive'' in Glasgow in 1993. Other references have appeared in Home's articles, notably in the journal ''Variant''.<ref>Home, Stewart. [https://www.variant.org.uk/pdfs/issue1/success.pdf "There's no success like failure"], ''Variant'', Volume 2 Number 1 (Winter 1996), p18<br /> Home, Stewart. [https://www.variant.org.uk/pdfs/issue2/mondo.pdf "Mondo Mythopoesis"], ''Variant'', Volume 2 Number 2 (Spring 1997), p7</ref>

{{quote| While the Workshop for Non-Linear Architecture has received little press, this is due to the WNLA's indifference towards media coverage rather than a matterpolicy of policydecision. Indeed, the WNLA text 'The Joker: A Game of Incidental Urban Poker' included in the anthology describes exactly the sort of 'unusual activity - teams of players scavenging city streets for playing cards that make up the hands in games of poker which go on for months - that might receive coverage in the press if those involved had the slightest interest in publicizing their activities".<ref>Home, Stewart. "[http://www.stewarthomesociety.org/ga/swamp.html Mind-Bending, Swamp Fever & The Ideological Vortex]". ''Public Netbase'', Vienna. 29 April 1998.</ref>}}

==References==

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==Bibliography==

* ''Mind Invaders: A Reader in Psychic Warfare, Cultural Sabotage, And Semiotic Terrorism'' (Serpent's Tail London, 1997).

* ''Suspect Device: Hard-Edged Fiction'' (Serpent's Tail, London 2120).

== External links ==

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[[Category: Psychogeography]]