Jørgen Nash

Jørgen Nash (March 16, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was a Danish artist, writer and central proponent of Situationism.

Life

He was born in Vejrum, Jutland, Denmark, baptized Jørgen Axel Jørgensen, the brother of Asger Jorn. He later changed his family name from Jørgensen to Nash. He was married three times and had six children. His last marriage was with the painter Lis Zwick and would last until his death in 2004. The last forty years of his life he lived in the artist collective Drakabygget outside Örkelljunga, Sweden.

From 1948 to 1951 he was involved with CoBrA. He went on to join the Situationist International.

In 1959 he produced Stavrim, Sonetter a book of poetry illustrated by Jorn.

In 1960 he founded the Situationist Bauhaus based at the farm Drakabygget with Jorn.

He was the editor of Drakabygget, a journal about art and social philosophy.

In 1963 became an honorary artist of the Royal Danish Academy of Art.

Exhibitions He has exhibited at:

Galerias del Palacio de Belles Artes, Mexico City Kobe Art Museum, Kobe, Japan Museum of Modern Art New York Moderna Museet National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Museum de Art Moderno, Mexico City Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo Rooseum, Sweden The Modern Art Gallery Silkeborg, Denmark Museo Carillo Gil, Mexico City Klingspor-Museum, Offenbach am Main, Germany Yokohama City Art Hall, Yokohama, Japan Tessin Institute, Paris Museo National de Belles Artes and Centro Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba Skissernas Museum, Lund, Sweden Kongelige Kobberstiksamling, Copenhagen, Denmark Centre Pompidou, Paris Royal Academi of Art, Stockholm Museu Dárt Contemporani, Barcelona, Spain

Exclusion from the SI On 10 February 1962, Nash voted with the majority of the Central Council of the Situationist International, for the exclusion of the Spur group. The majority was 5 to 1, with Dieter Kunzelmann be the only opposer. Nash rebuked those responsible for Spur, was initially in favor of them publishing a retraction, but stopped short of demanding an exclusion. After a debate on this subject, however, Nash decided on the option of exclusion. According to the SI, the development of this conspiracy was no doubt precipitated by the recent elimination of the SI's right wing, the Spur group, on whose support the Nashists had relied. Nash, with Ansgar Elde and Jacqueline de Jong, stated that although there may be grounds to criticise the Spur group (Ervin Eisch, Lothar Fischer, Dieter Kunzelmann, Renee Nele, Heimrad Prem, Gretel Stadler, Helmut Sturm and Hand-Peter Zimmer), the way they had been expelled, and the SI itself, were totalitarian. However, the decision followed a debate and was voted by the majority 5 to 1, with Nash also voting in favor of it. Nash also implied that Ansgar Elde was present at the Council and that Jacqueline de Jong was part of if, which was false. The SI, at the behest of Jeppesen Victor Martin, described those they had expelled as nashists.

On 24 April 1964 Nash with other members of Bauhaus Situationniste decapitated the statue of The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen harbour. This manifestation was part of the movements campaign against consumerist society.

Following his exclusion he became involved in the Second Situationist International and the creation in 1974 of the Situationist Antinational.