Just when you think you know every autonomist groupuscle in existence you find another... Thanks to John Cunningham for providing me with a translation of their text on the millennial movement of Canudos I discovered Os Cangaceiros (nearly all their French texts are here, while an account of the group in English is here). Drawing from the second resource, which notes their involvement in both the Brixton uprising and the Miner's Strike, we also have this from their physical assault on the architects on the French prison-industrial complex:"Subject: Ambush
Are your wounds well healed, architect ? Did you figure out why ? Shamelessly, with no discretion of any kind, centimetre by centimetre, you have conceived these cages in which even the handicapped will be locked up. Inside the walls which you have designed, individuals who are worth more than you will be beaten up on a regular basis. It is good that you have received an appetizer of what thousands of prisoners will endure to the nth degree. To be sure, architect, this is not your company's first infamy. Considering what you build to house normal citizens, one can guess your competence to shut away delinquents. One moves easily from the tower blocks of the 13th arrondisement to prison cells. Pig, looking at your snout up close, we were able to note from your tired face how deeply you involve yourself in your projects. Before you were building walls, now you're going to knock them down."
Os Cangaceiros, Lyon, 29/03/1990
Are your wounds well healed, architect ? Did you figure out why ? Shamelessly, with no discretion of any kind, centimetre by centimetre, you have conceived these cages in which even the handicapped will be locked up. Inside the walls which you have designed, individuals who are worth more than you will be beaten up on a regular basis. It is good that you have received an appetizer of what thousands of prisoners will endure to the nth degree. To be sure, architect, this is not your company's first infamy. Considering what you build to house normal citizens, one can guess your competence to shut away delinquents. One moves easily from the tower blocks of the 13th arrondisement to prison cells. Pig, looking at your snout up close, we were able to note from your tired face how deeply you involve yourself in your projects. Before you were building walls, now you're going to knock them down."
Os Cangaceiros, Lyon, 29/03/1990
2 comments:
I think there should be much more of this robust form of architectural criticism.
It does seem to set a new standard, perhaps being clubbed with the materials you used could be the next step...
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