Autoterrorist

We are now carrying out research into urban life in the 20 arrondissements of Paris.  Expect more photos as we look at the graffiti and art of Paris’ streets and explore the ambiences of the city of lights, employing the situationist/lettrist methods of dérive, détournement and psychogeography.

For about 50 years Jim Bishop has been building himself a castle.

With no architectural plans, no blueprints, no teams of architects or contractors, Jim Bishop has been building this castle by himself. Freed from any constraints of design, or any adherence to codes, the structure is based on pure desire. This is the antithesis of functional, rational architecture; it is the architecture of dreams made manifest—surrealist automatic architecture. Whatever Jim Bishop wants to build on his castle, he will build. With a flame-shooting Nordic dragon’s head, extending from the main hall, this is the stuff of pure fantasy.

Formed from rock gathered from around his property in Southern Colorado, graced with wrought iron bridges and passageways, the tallest tower of the castle reaches a startling 160 feet in the air. With no pretense to exclusivity, the public is free to climb the towers and explore the castle. Donations are requested to keep the project alive, because “unfortunately everything nowadays is about money.”

What is it about climbing up Bishop Castle that makes it so terrifying? Is it the height, the noticeable architectural inconsistencies, the fact that the anarchist that built it is raving against the government with incredible vitriol below? Or are we also afraid of our own propensity for creating monuments to desire like Bishop Castle?

(don’t go that way)

Please watch the video.

See also Ferdinand Cheval, a French postman from Hauterives who built himself a “Palais Idéal” stone by stone over 33 years. We will make a point of visiting Cheval’s Palais while we are in France.

You might have noticed that I recently changed the title of my blog from my name (boring boring boring) to “Autoterrorist.” The word is related to a concept from the Lettrist International, attributed to Eliane Brau, but Aaron thinks it might have been Michele Bernstein’s. We can’t find the article where it was mentioned but the name and concept has stuck in our heads, evolving to suit our own uses. Recently the word has been used to describe car bomb terrorism, but as a practice we might insist that it relate to terrorizing traffic in the slavery of their commutes, or terrorizing oneself to heighten consciousness, coming close to death to feel truly alive. Read more on my new About Me page, which was very much in need of updating (old one here).

We-make-money-not-art posted a fascinating review of a conference called “Resistant maps,” which discusses new mapping technologies, democratization of cartography and Situationist tactics of the derive and psychogeography. Cartografia Resistente (unfortunately only in Italian) is a project based in Florence which explores alternative tactics of discovering the city and its territory through derive.

Another supercool project involving Google maps is this one by Aram Bartholl.