Workshop for Non-Linear Architecture: Difference between revisions

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The '''Workshop for Non-Linear Architecture''' ('''WNLA''') was the name which was given to a group of experimental artists and [[Psychogeography|Psychogeographers]]. The group was active in [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] (sections that existed in both [[Glasgow]] and [[London]]) during the 1990s. Informed to a large degree by the urban practices of the [[Paris]]-based [[Lettriste Internationale]] (1952–1957), the workshop focused its practice on developing the [[Letterist]] theory of [[Unitary Urbanism]]. The development of the theory was done 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 in question 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 2-year 'Psychogeographical Survey of Glasgow' (1992–1994), the group concentrated on refining the interplay between the [[Lettrism|Letterist]] (and later [[Situationist International|Situationist]]) techniques of derived and constructed situations. The outcome, described in the essay "Programmed and constructed drifting; the event architectures of [[Unitary urbanism#:~:text=Unitary urbanism (UU) was the,International between 1953 and 1960.|Unitary Urbanism]]" (''Viscosity'' No.3 Glasgow, Jan 1994), highlighted the false separation between 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 unrestricted ''[[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 terrain and deployed at regular intervals to generate recursive 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'' (now infamous for being selected by the [[K Foundation]] to announce its 23-year moratorium on all artistic practice). However, the journal suggests that the moratorium applied to the K Foundation and WNLA itself, with the group committing to stop mediating their activities entirely until 2018.

British cultural commentator and activist [[Stewart Home]] became a champion of WNLA's lucid 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. "There's no success like failure", ''Variant'', Volume 2 Number 1 (Winter 1996), p18<br /> Home, Stewart. "Mondo Mythopoesis", ''Variant'', Volume 2 Number 2 (Spring 1997), p7</ref>