THE ASSAULT ON CULTURE: UTOPIAN CURRENTS FROM LETTRISM TO CLASS WAR by Stewart Home.
Ist edition Aporia Press and Unpopular Books, London 1988. 2nd UK edition AK Press, 1991.

The entire contents of this book (except the index) are available for free on this site, but you can still buy hard copies should you so wish. This book was written in 1987, things have moved on since then (both for the author and in the world), so please bear that in mind....

CONTENTS
Preface.
Introduction.
1. Cobra.
2. The Lettriste Movement.
3. The Lettriste International (1952-57).
4. The College Of Pataphysics, Nuclear Art and the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus.
5. From the "First World Congress of Liberated Artists" to the foundation of the Situationist International.
6. The Situationist International in its heroic phase (1957-62).
7. On the theoretical poverty of the Specto-Situationists and the legitimate status of the Second International.
8. The decline and fall of the Specto-Situationist critique.
9. The origins of Fluxus and the movement in its 'heroic' period.
10. The rise of the depoliticized Fluxus aesthetic.
11. Gustav Metzger and Auto-Destructive Art.
12. Dutch Provos, Kommune 1, Motherfuckers, Yippies and White Panthers.
13. Mail Art.
14. Beyond Mail Art.
15. Punk.
16. Neoism.
17. Class War.
Conclusion.
Afterword.
Selected Bibliography.
Introduction to the Polish edition.
Introduction to the Italian edition.
Introduction to the Lithuanian edition.
Palingenesis of the Avant-Garde (included in translated editions of book).

This book was first published by Aporia Press and Unpopular Books of London in 1988, and subsequently reissued by AK Press (Stirling) in 1991. AK Press edition ISBN: 1 873176309 is currently available. Please note the UK AK edition is the English language version approved by the author; an overpriced and poor quality pod version was issued by AK US without Stewart Home's knowledge, and when he found about about it two years after it was issued and complained, AK US agreed to withdraw it (but may or may not have done so).

From the back cover of the AK edition (lifted from the press).

" A straightforward account of the vanguards that followed Surrealism: Letlrisme, fluxus, Neoism and others even more obscure" Village Voice.

"Home's book is the first that I know of to chart this particular 'tradition' and to treat it seriously. It is a healthy corrective to the overly aestheticised view of 20th century avant-gorde art that now prevails." City Limits.

" Much of the information is taken from obscure sources and the book is essential reading for anyone interested in the subject. It demystifies the political and artistic practices of opponents to the dominant culture and serves as a basic reference for a field largely undocumented in English. It is also engagingly honest, unpretentious, questioning and immediate in its impact" Artists Newsletter.

"Reflecting the uncategorisable aspect of art that hurls itself into visionary politics, the book will engage political scientists, performance artists and activists" Art and Text.

" Apocalyptic in the literal sense of the word: an uncovering, revelation, a vision" New Statesman.

" A concise introduction to a whole mess of troublemakers through the ages... well written, incisive and colourful" NME.

"Informative and provocative" Art Forum.

Front cover photo of Shaun Caton on 2nd UK edition (AK Press) by John Parker. Front cover of 1st UK edition shows Asger Jorn at work in the Experimental Laboratory.

Prelim Page Quotes:

"Our programme is a cultural revolution through a total assault on culture, which makes use of every tool, every energy and every media we can get our collective hands on... our culture, our art, the music, newspapers, books, posters, our clothing, our homes, the way we walk and talk, the way our hair grows, the way we smoke dope and fuck and eat and sleep - it's all one message - and the message is FREEDOM." John Sinclair, Ministry Of Information, White Panthers.

"Frankly, all he asked for now was an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Black Panthers and uncover the man behind the scenes. Hart had been right about this. There were whites actively engaged in supplying facilities, legal advice, aid for the 'cell'. Liberals they were called. Some were honest citizens trying to carry through the mayor's instructions that peace depended upon total, unbiased co-operation between New York's polyglot millions. Others had a stake in anarchy - destruction being their aim, civil strife their immediate target. And, too, there were the Mafia with tentacles waving for a share of the lucrative drug traffic. Pot and acid were not enough for the pushers. They wanted 'H' and coke the mainstemming narcotic that every militant used." Richard Allen "Demo" (New English Library, London 1971).

"It should be re-affirmed that the creation of a counter-culture, in itself a haphazard, chancy and unpredictable affair, has profound political implications. For while the Establishment, with its flair for survival, can ultimately absorb policies, no matter how radical or anarchistic (abolition of censorship, withdrawal from Vietnam, Legalized Pot, etc), how long can it withstand the impact of an alien culture? - a culture that is destined to create a new kind of man?" Richard Neville "Play Power" (Jonathan Cape, London 1970).

Henry Flynt talks to Stewart Home (interview with seminal figure who knew entire New York Fluxus circle).

Ralph Rumney talks to Stewart Home (interview with founder member of the Situationist International)

Art/Anti-Art

Politics