Isidore Isou
Encyclopedia
Isidore Isou born Ioan-Isidor Goldstein, was a Romania
n-born French
poet, film critic
and visual artist. He was the founder of Lettrism
, an art and literary movement which owed inspiration to Dada
and Surrealism
.
family in Botoşani
, Isou started his career as an avant-garde
art journalist during World War II
, shortly after the August 23 coup saw Romania joining the Allies
(see Romania during World War II
). With the future social psychologist Serge Moscovici
, he founded the magazine Da, which was soon after closed down by the authorities. He moved to Paris
, having developed many concepts that intended as a total artistic renewing starting from their lower levels. He called himself a Lettriste, a movement of which he was initially the only member (at the age of 16 he had published the Manifesto in 1942) and published a system of Lettrist hypergraphics. Others soon joined him, and the movement continues to grow, albeit at times under a confusing number of different names.
In the 1960s Lettrist, Lettrist-influenced works and Isidore Isou gained a great deal of respect in France. The influential writer Guy Debord
and the artist Gil J. Wolman
worked with Isou for a while, before breaking away to form the Lettrist International
, which latter merged with the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus
, and the London Psychogeographical Association
to form the Situationist International, a dissident revolutionary
group. This is how Lettrist art influenced the poster
s, barricade
s, even clothing in the attempted revolution of 1968. Although it seemed a highly self-contained art in the post-war period, in 1968 it suddenly became more deeply involved in active social change than such movements as Existentialism
and Surrealism
, and came closer to producing actual transformation than these movements.
Isou's final public appearance was at the University of Paris
on October 21, 2000. Crippled by ill health, he remained house-bound until his death in 2007. Many of his works, and those of the other Lettrists, have recently been reprinted in new editions, together with much hitherto unpublished material, most notably Isou's very large La Créatique ou la Novatique (1941-1976) (1,390 pages).
In July 2007, Kino International released a DVD collection Avant-Garde 2: Experimental Films 1928-1954
which included Isou's film Traité de Bave et d'Èternité (Venom and Eternity) (1951).
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n-born French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
poet, film critic
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
and visual artist. He was the founder of Lettrism
Lettrism
Lettrism is a French avant-garde movement, established in Paris in the mid-1940s by Romanian immigrant Isidore Isou. In a body of work totaling hundreds of volumes, Isou and the Lettrists have applied their theories to all areas of art and culture, most notably in poetry, film, painting and...
, an art and literary movement which owed inspiration to Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
and Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
.
Biography
Born into a JewishHistory of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
family in Botoşani
Botosani
Botoșani is the capital city of Botoșani County, in northern Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu and Nicolae Iorga.- Origin of the name :...
, Isou started his career as an avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
art journalist during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, shortly after the August 23 coup saw Romania joining the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
(see Romania during World War II
Romania during World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political upheaval, undermined this stance. Fascist political forces such as the Iron...
). With the future social psychologist Serge Moscovici
Serge Moscovici
Serge Moscovici is a Romanian-born French social psychologist, currently the director of the Laboratoire Européen de Psychologie Sociale , which he co-founded in 1974 at the Maison des sciences de l'homme in Paris...
, he founded the magazine Da, which was soon after closed down by the authorities. He moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, having developed many concepts that intended as a total artistic renewing starting from their lower levels. He called himself a Lettriste, a movement of which he was initially the only member (at the age of 16 he had published the Manifesto in 1942) and published a system of Lettrist hypergraphics. Others soon joined him, and the movement continues to grow, albeit at times under a confusing number of different names.
In the 1960s Lettrist, Lettrist-influenced works and Isidore Isou gained a great deal of respect in France. The influential writer Guy Debord
Guy Debord
Guy Ernest Debord was a French Marxist theorist, writer, filmmaker, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationist International . He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie.-Early Life:Guy Debord was born in Paris in 1931...
and the artist Gil J. Wolman
Gil J. Wolman
Gil Joseph Wolman was a French artist, born in Paris in 1929 and dying there in 1995. His work encompassed painting, poetry and film-making. He was a member of Isidore Isou's avant garde Letterist movement in the early 1950s, then becoming a central figure in the Letterist International, the group...
worked with Isou for a while, before breaking away to form the Lettrist International
Lettrist International
The Letterist International was a Paris-based collective of radical artists and theorists between 1952 and 1957. It was created by Guy Debord as a schism from Isidore Isou's Letterist group...
, which latter merged with the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus
International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus
The International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus was a small European avant-garde artistic tendency that arose out of the breakup of COBRA, and was initiated by contact between former COBRA member Asger Jorn and Enrico Baj and Sergio Dangelo of the Nuclear Art Movement.-Timeline:*December 1953:...
, and the London Psychogeographical Association
London Psychogeographical Association
The London Psychogeographical Association is an organisation devoted to psychogeography. The LPA is perhaps best understood in the context of psychogeographical praxis.-London Psychogeographical Institute:...
to form the Situationist International, a dissident revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
group. This is how Lettrist art influenced the poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s, barricade
Barricade
Barricade, from the French barrique , is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction...
s, even clothing in the attempted revolution of 1968. Although it seemed a highly self-contained art in the post-war period, in 1968 it suddenly became more deeply involved in active social change than such movements as Existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
and Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, and came closer to producing actual transformation than these movements.
Isou's final public appearance was at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
on October 21, 2000. Crippled by ill health, he remained house-bound until his death in 2007. Many of his works, and those of the other Lettrists, have recently been reprinted in new editions, together with much hitherto unpublished material, most notably Isou's very large La Créatique ou la Novatique (1941-1976) (1,390 pages).
In July 2007, Kino International released a DVD collection Avant-Garde 2: Experimental Films 1928-1954
Avant-garde (dvd collection)
Avant-Garde is a DVD-series with experimental films released by Kino International.-Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 1930s:Avant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 1930s is a 2-disc, 6-hour DVD collection, released in August 2005 by Kino International which includes the following...
which included Isou's film Traité de Bave et d'Èternité (Venom and Eternity) (1951).
Quote
- Je préfère mon nouveau dégoût à l'ancien goût dégoûtant. ("I'd rather have my new distaste than the old distasteful taste.")
Published works
- Traité de bave et d'éternité, Éd. Hors Commerce, 2000.
- Contre l'internationale situationniste (1960-2000), essai, Éd. Hors Commerce, 2000.
- Contre le cinema situationniste, neo-nazi, Librairie la Guide, Paris, 1979.
- Les Champs de Force de la Peinture Lettriste, Avant-Garde, Paris, 1964.
- Manifesto of Lettrist Poetry: A Commonplaces about Words.
- Introduction à une Nouvelle Poésie et une Nouvelle Musique, Paris, Gallimard, 1947.
- Les Journaux des Dieus, 1950/51.
- La Créatique ou la Novatique (1941-1976), Éditions Al Dante, 2003.