User:Operaismo/A/traverso

A/traverso A/traverso was an underground magazine founded in Bologna in 1975. The magazine was initiated by an eponymous collective that had developed within the university sphere of Bologna. Many members of the collective were also part of the editorial collective of Radio Alice. The collective defined itself as "mao-dadaist".

History
The magazine, published in tabloid format, was initially released with a circulation of around a thousand copies. It was irregularly published until 1981, where its circulation peaked at 25,000. After a prolonged break, a final series of the magazine was released between February 1987 and March 1988. In 1976 the editors of the magazine also released a book that espoused the manifesto program of the group: "Alice è il diavolo. Sulla strada di Majakovskij: testi per una pratica di comunicazione sovversiva [Alice is the devil. On Mayakovsky's path: texts for a practice of subversive communication]".

The logo of the magazine was created in 1975 by Claudio Cappi, putting together cut-out letters from the main left-wing newspapers of the era (L'Unita, il Manifesto, Lotta Continua, Rosso).

Content
The magazine was a creative experience, in which the political contents were reworked through avant-guard artistic language. The central interests of the magazine were a critical reflection on the use of means of communication, and the elaboration of a revolutionary language able to interrupt and invert the traditional flows of communication. In this sense the magazine differed itself from other "counter-information" news sheets disseminated during this period. The attempt to develop a "new communication" was also developed through the graphic layout of the magazine, which utilised cut-ups of newspaper clippings, cartoons, handwritten slogans, and articles typed and printed in a generally chaotic manner.

The editorial group also gave rise to a series of urban actions that embedded them into the political and cultural climate of the period, and represented a continuation of the theoretical reflections addressed by the magazine. These included the sabbotage of traffic lights, occupations of theatres and cinemas, and the distribution of fake public transport tickets.

In popular culture
The song Zut/a/traverso by Ivan della Mea and Daniele Sepe, from their 2006 album "Suonarne 1 per educarne 100", is dedicated to the magazine.

Related pages

 * Movement of '77
 * Radio Alice
 * Franco Berardi