This exhibition takes as its starting point the visual and conceptual strategies of the Situationist Internationale (SI), the French avant-garde group that formed in the late 1950s. Led by Guy Debord, members of the SI produced theoretical tracts along with ironic examples of what they termed détournement, the subversion of elements of the mass media. Détournement literally means “to deflect or redirect” and involves transforming known ideas or images into something new that radically undermines their original message. The exhibition explores the development of détournement over the last four decades and how this strategy has impacted visual communication.

"Détournement: Subversive Visual Communication" is on view November 12 – February 26 in the main galleries of the Tarble Arts Center at Eastern Illinois University. Curated by Stephen Eskilson & Robert Petersen, it includes stunning comics, posters, commercial graphics, and other printed ephemera: for a sampling, check out the exhibition website at www.detournementexhibition.org. Additionally, a series of short films that thematically engage the exhibition—including Guy Debord’s rarely seen La société du spectacle (1973)—will be screened on February 2, 2012 at 7:30pm in the Tarble Atrium. The Tarble is pleased to announce that a traveling version of "Détournement: Subversive Visual Communication" will be offered beginning in Spring 2012