15 April 2013

Infrarealist Manifesto, Mario Santiago Papasquiaro, 1975

In 2009, I published a translation of Roberto Bolaño's "Abandon everything again: First Infrarealist manifesto," written in 1976.  Since then, I have learned that this "first" manifesto was preceded by two others, both written in 1975: one by José Vicente Anaya, and another by Mario Santiago Papasquiaro (see here and here).

What follows is a translation of Mario Santiago's manifesto.  The original can be found, for example, here.  Anaya's manifesto can also easily be found at that site; a translation may be forthcoming on this blog.

Semi-relatedly, there is a recording of Mario Santiago reading one of his poems (in Spanish) here.



Infrarealist Manifesto

WHAT DO WE PROPOSE?

NOT MAKING A JOB OF ART

SHOWING THAT EVERYTHING IS ART AND THAT THE WHOLE WORLD CAN MAKE IT

BEING INTERESTED IN "INSIGNIFICANT" THINGS / WITHOUT INSTITUTIONAL VALUE

/ PLAYING / ART MUST BE UNLIMITED IN QUANTITY, ACCESSIBLE

TO EVERYONE, AND IF POSSIBLE CREATED FOR EVERYONE

¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONTRADICTING ART / CONTRADICTING EVERYDAY LIFE (DUCHAMP) IN A

TIME THAT SEEMS ALMOST TOTALLY BLOCKED FOR

PROFESSIONAL OPTIMISTS

TRANSFORMING ART / TRANSFORMING EVERYDAY LIFE (US)

CREATIVITY / LIFE MISALIGNED AT ALL COSTS

(MOVING OUR HIPS TO THE PRESENT WHILE BATTING OUR EYELASHES

FROM THE AIRPORTS OF THE FUTURE)

IN A TIME WHEN MURDERS HAVE BEEN DISGUISING

SUICIDES

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

CONVERTING CONFERENCE ROOMS INTO FIRING RANGES1

 (FESTIVAL INSIDE A FESTIVAL / WOULD DEBRAY SAY?2

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

BEETHOVEN, RACINE & MIGUEL ÁNGEL STOP BEING THE MOST USEFUL

THE MOST ADDICTIVE3, THE MOST NOURISHING: THE SOUND

BARRIERS THE SPEED LABYRINTHS (OH JAMES DEAN!4) ARE BEING

BROKEN INTO SOMETHING ELSE

“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

 TAKING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR DEPENDENCE & PASSIVITY

SEARCHING FOR UNPRECEDENTED MODES OF INTERVENING IN & DETERMINING THE WORLD

DEMYSTIFYING / TURNING INTO AGITATORS

NOTHING HUMAN IS FOREIGN TO US (GOOD) NOTHING UTOPIAN IS FOREIGN TO US

(SUPERGOOD)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

AT THIS MOMENT MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, THE PROBLEM OF ART

CANNOT BE THOUGHT OF AS AN INTERNAL STRUGGLE BETWEEN CONTINGENTS / 

BUT ABOVE ALL AS A TACIT (ALMOST DECLARED) STRUGGLE BETWEEN

THOSE WHO ARE CONSCIOUSLY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY WITH THE SYSTEM

AND TRY TO CONSERVE IT PROLONG IT / AND THOSE WHO ALSO CONSCIOUSLY

OR UNCONSCIOUSLY MAKE IT EXPLODE

…………………………………………………………

ART IN THIS COUNTRY HAS NOT GONE FURTHER THAN A CURSORY TECHNIQUE

FOR DECORATIVELY EXERCISING MEDIOCRITY

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

"ONLY FREE MEN OF ANY STRIPE WILL BE ABLE TO CARRY THE FLAME FAR ENOUGH" (ANDRÉ BRETON)5

¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RETURNING TO ART THE NOTION OF A PASSIONATE AND CONVULSIVE LIFE

CULTURE IS NOT IN BOOKS OR IN PAINTINGS OR IN

STATUES IT'S IN THE NERVES / IN THE FREE FLOW OF THE NERVES

A CLEARER STATEMENT: AN EMBODIED CULTURE / A CULTURE IN

FLESH, IN SENSIBILITY (THIS OLD DREAM OF ANTONIN ARTAUD)

555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS:

THE FIELD OF OUR ACTIVITY / AND THE FRENETIC SEARCH FOR

WHAT STILL DOESN'T EXIST

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

OUR PURPOSE IS (THE TRUTH) PRACTICAL SUBVERSION

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

EXAMPLE OF TOTAL ART

TOTAL SCULPTURE (AND WITH MOVEMENT): A MANIFESTATION OF 10,000

TO 20,000 PEOPLE SUPPORTING THE STRIKE OF THE DEMOCRATIC ELEMENT

OF SUTERM6

TOTAL MUSIC: TRIPPING MUSHROOMS IN THE SIERRA MAZTECA

TOTAL PAINTING: CLAUDIA KERIK BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS / I INSIST:

BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS

TOTAL POETRY: THIS INTERVIEW DISSEMINATED TELEPATHICALLY OR WITH

THE ONLY MOVEMENT OF MY HAIR (AN AFRICAN LION'S) AND ALL ITS

ELECTRIC DISCHARGE

3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

WORLDS WAVES PEOPLE WHO INTEREST ME:

NICANOR PARRA CATULLUS QUEVEDO LAUTRÉAMONT MAGRITTE CHIRICO ARTAUD

VACHÉ JARRY BRETON BORIS VIAN BURROUGHS GINSBERG KEROUAC KAFKA

BAKUNIN CHAPLIN GODARD FASSBINDER ALAIN TANNER FRANCIS BACON

DUBUFFET GEORGE SEGAL JUAN RAMÍREZ RUÍZ VALLEJO EL CHÉ GUEVARA

ENGELS "THAT MASTER OF SARCASM" THE PARIS COMMUNE THE

SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL THE EPIC OF THE CASTAWAYS OF THE GRANMA (THEY FORGOT ME): HEIRONYMUS BOSCH (THE UNMISSABLE)

WILHELM REICH THE APORNOGRAPHIC MYSTICISM OF CHARLES MAGNUS THE 

MULTICOLORED EROTICA OF TOM WESSELMAN JOHN CAGE JULIAN BECK JUDITH

MALINA & HER LEAVING THEATER (AND TO CONCLUDE) THE MARQUIS DE

SADE HECTOR APOLINAR ROBERTO BOLAÑO JOSÉ REVUELTAS (AND HIS

DISCOVERY THAT THE DIALECTIC SOMETIMES WALKS LIKE

A CRAB) JUDITH GARCÍA CLAUDIA SOL (AND EVEN ON CLOUDY DAYS)

CLAUDIA SOL

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

WE CAN SHOOT 2 GUNS AT ONCE / I MEAN MORE THAN ONCE

BUFFALO BILL

STUPIDITY IS NOT OUR STRONG SUIT

(ALFRED JARRY DIXIT)




Notes
1.  "STANS DE TIRO"
2. Jules Régis Debray; missing close parenthesis in the original
3. "LO MÁS ANFETAMÍNICO" - something like "the most like being addicted to meth"
4. In English in the original.
5. Where is this in Breton?  I recognize it but I can't find it.
6. SUTERM was an electrical workers' union.

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