Thank you for your letter and your efforts concerning the paintings of Asger [Jorn] -- who has very good hopes of organizing your Parisian exposition. The Tapie of whom you speak -- Michel Tapie[1]? -- is our worst enemy in Paris; on the level of the theory of art, he supports a false modernism linked to all of the reactionary enterprises (Georges Mathieu[2] . . .). If you can insult him in the name of the Italian situationists, this would be good publicity for [the situationists in] Paris.
Concerning [Walter] Olmo: here [in Paris], we have complete confidence in you. I think that the responsibility for research in Italy is yours, and your judgment suffices: without it, we would always have to envision the affective individual relations of each member with all of the others.
Personally, I do not care that Olmo had confidence in me. I do not believe this has importance, although I found Olmo very likable and although I have obviously done nothing to win or betray his confidence -- what use would that be? -- I have no need of fabricating artificial disciples so as to make them support ideas that I wouldn't dare to openly present to my friends. Not everyone uses the curious methods of [Piero] Simondi. But if all critique among us is taken as an offense, then this would completely remove the value of our approval, which would thus be simple politeness.
Finally, if Olmo had confidence in you, and if you produce certain works together, this would be very good in my opinion. Such little questions will normally be superceded by our real progress.
We now have a German section, the first manifesto of which I have sent you.[3] We are particularly happy with this development. I also attach to this letter an Address to the producers of modern art[4] in the form of a "filiform tract."
Hope to see you soon. All our regards,[1] Michel Tapie, a French art critic.
[2] Georges Mathieu, a French painter.
[3] Nervenuh! Keine Experimente! (Keep calm! No experiments!), signed by Asger Jorn and Hans Platschek, 1 January 1958, Munich.
[4] Tract by the French section. A single line imprinted on a piece of paper 2 cm high and 90 cm long: "If you are tired of imitating rubble; if it appears to you that the fragmentary repetitions that are expected of you are surpassed before they even come into existence, then make contact with us so as to organize new powers of transformation of the ambiant environment at a superior level. [The] Situationist International, 32 rue Montagne-Genevieve, Paris, 5th."
(Published in Guy Debord, Correspondance, Volume 1, 1957-1960. Footnotes by Alice Debord. Translated from the French by NOT BORED! October 2005.)