Tag Archives: Alexander Trocchi

Project Sigma

Project Sigma, which was the focus of much of Alexander Trocchi’s work from 1962-1977, was an attempt by Trocchi to establish an international network of counter cultural activism largely focused on socially based institutions perceived as limiting free expression such as the media, universities, and workplaces.

According to Beatbooks catalog, #92: “Project Sigma, which grew out of Alexander Trocchi’s involvement with the Situationist International (he was expelled by Guy Debord in 1963), was an ambitious attempt to establish an international network of countercultural activism focused on institutions Trocchi perceived as limiting free expression, including the media, universities and workplaces. The Sigma Portfolio, circulated on a subscription basis, was the concrete manifestation of his project, an invitation to recipients (artists, writers and intellectuals) to participate with their own contributions, as well as acting as an exemplar of underground self-dissemination.

“Several issues were mimeographed by Jeff Nuttall, sometimes assisted by Bob Cobbing, and Trocchi’s neighbour in the flat below him in Notting Hill, Marcus Field, helped in its organisation and collation (insofar as this was necessary, since some issues consisted of a single sheet).

“It has never been clear exactly how many issues were produced, though it’s been claimed there were as many as 39 (other reports suggest 37). It seems likely that several were never printed, possibly as many as 12 or 13…”

1a. THE MOVING TIMES, Sigma Portfolio , No. 1, edited by Alexander Trocchi and Jeff Nuttall
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, broadsheet, 19” x 29”, letterpress printed at Villiers.

Contents: Alexander Trocchi – “The Barbecue”, Kenneth White – “The Real Climate”, William Burroughs – “Martin’s Folly”, Antonin Artaud – “The Theater”.
(See Maynard & Miles C109)

According to Beatbooks catalog #92, the title originated from the broadsheet edited by Burroughs which appeared in Jeff Nuttall’s My Own Mag, No. 6 earlier in 1964.

Note: The design of this, Trocchi’s first release under the banner of the Sigma Portfolio, was a large poster designed to resemble the front page of a newspaper and originally intended to be displayed in subway stations until the project became unfeasible.

1b. THE MOVING TIMES, Sigma Portfolio, No. 1, edited by Alexander Trocchi and Jeff Nuttall
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, second issue, double-sided folded broadsheet, 17” x 13.5”. Printed by Brian Pottle from the Stanhope Press.
(See Maynard & Miles C109)

2. Trocchi, Alexander. INVISIBLE INSURRECTION OF A MILLION MINDS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 2
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, side stapled, 8” x 13”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: Alexander Trocchi – “Invisible Insurrection of a Million Minds”. Originally published in the Saltire Review (1962) and subsequently printed in Internationale Situationniste (January 1963), as “Technique du Coup du Monde”

According to Beatbooks catalog #92, “The most comprehensive articulation of the Sigma experiment. In it, Trocchi argues ‘that a cultural revolution is already happening, that techniques can and are being invented for transcending conventional functions which are not appropriate to any imaginable future. Amongst other ideas is that of the “spontaneous university”, a fertile and experimental ambiance designed to equip men and women with those inner resources without which they will be unable to contend with LEISURE… a dominant fact of the future.'”

3. Trocchi, Alexander. SIGMA: A TACTICAL BLUEPRINT, Sigma Portfolio, No. 3
London: Project Sigma, 1964.

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: Alexander Trocchi – “Sigma: A Tactical Blueprint”

According to Beatbooks catalog #92, a development of the thesis outlined in the previous issue, including an explanation of the reasons behind the choice of the word ‘sigma’.

Note: an important early text outlining plans for the Sigma Project. The first separate edition, originally printed in City Lights Journal, No. 2.

Variant: edited to six pages and with different formatting.

4. [Trocchi, Alexander]. POTLATCH, Sigma Portfolio, No. 4
London: Project Sigma, July 1964

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: anonymous [Alexander Trocchi] – “Potlatch”

Note: an anonymous text, formatted as a letter to Feliks Topolski [according to Trocchi papers] asking for contributions for an interpersonal log-book for Sigma members. The text continues with an in-depth explanation of Situationist theory.

5. Trocchi, Alexander. SIGMA GENERAL INFORMATION SERVICE EXISTENTIAL CONSULTANTS LONDON PARIS NEW YORK, Sigma Portfolio, No. 5
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: anonymous [written by Trocchi] – “Sigma General Information Service Existential Consultants London Paris New York”

Note: essay discussing the Sigma Project in relation to theories from Burroughs, McClure, R.D. Laing, Wallace Berman, and others.

6. Laing, R.D. PRACTICE AND THEORY – THE PRESENT SITUATION, Sigma Portfolio, No. 6
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 6 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: R.D. Laing – “Practice and Theort – The Present Situation”

Note: a paper from the pseudo-scientist R.D. Laing, as presented at the 6th International Congress for Psychotherapy August 1964; a mixture of neo-Freudian text and an adaptation of existentialism.

7. Trocchi, Alexander. THE UNOFFICIAL POETRY CONFERENCE, EDINBURGH FESTIVAL, Sigma Portfolio, No. 7
London/Edinburgh: Project Sigma/Moving Times, September 1964

First edition, single leaf, 8” x 13”, 2 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contributors include: Alexander Trocchi – “Unofficial Poetry Conference, Edinburgh Festival”

Note: Trocchi’s diatribe against the Daily Express’s reactionary reporting of the Unofficial Poetry Conference which took place during the Edinburgh Festival. Published as a special supplement to The Moving Times.

8. Howe, Eric. SHORT CONTRIBUTIONS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 8

9. McClure, Michael. POEMS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 9
[not issued, see Sigma Portofolio, No. 21]

10. LETTER FROM STAN BRAKHAGE TO ROBERT KELLY, Sigma Portfolio, No. 10
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 4 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: Letter from Stan Brakhage to Robert Kelly

Note: contains the text of a letter from film-maker, Stan Brakkjage to Robert Kelly (the poet) where they discuss the function of art.

11. JOAN LITTLEWOOD PRESENTS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 11
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, folded broadsheet, 11.5” x 8.25” (folded), offset printed.

Together with a mimeograph sheet listing the Sigma Portfolio’s contents to date with a brief note to subscribers.

Note: produced in collaboration with the architect Cedric Price; also reproduces a text for Giant Space Mobile.

12. [Trocchi, Alexander]. THE SIGMA FOLIO – SUBSCRIPTION FORM, Sigma Portfolio, No. 12
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, single sheet, 8” x 13”, printed recto only, mimeograph printed.

Contents: Sigma Folio Subscription Form

Note: Includes a brief overview of the Sigma Portfolio which is “outflanking the traditional trap of publishing-house policy, and by means of which the reader gets it, so to speak ‘hot’ from the writer’s pen.”

13. Field, Marcus. SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE MOVING TIMES: WRITERS NIGHT AT BETTER BOOKS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 13
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, single sheet, 8” x 13”, 2 pages, mimeograph printed. Published as a special supplement to The Moving Times.

Contents: Marcus Field – “The Theatre and Its Future”

Note: features Marcus Field’s contribution to the discussion at the “inaugural meeting of Mr. John Calder’s Writers Night at Better Books, November 1964”.

14. [Trocchi, Alexander]. PORTFOLIO LIST CUMULATIVE, Sigma Portfolio, No. 14
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, single sheet, 8” x 13”, 2 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: a list of all available portfolios including projected numbers up to No. 28.

Note: attached to present copy are copies of Sigma portfolio Nos. 2, 5 and 12 (18 pages in total). Trocchi often sent bundles of all available issues to new subscribers.

15. [Trocchi, Alexander]. LETTER TO POTENTIAL SUBSCRIBERS / POTLACH, Sigma Portfolio, No. 15
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, single sheet, 8” x 13”, 4 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: a letter to potential subscribers [unattributed], a quote about Sigma from playwright John Arden and a list of 11 issues of the portfolio and a short unattributed text [by Alexander Trocchi?].

16. [Trocchi, Alexander]. LETTER TO UNIVERSITIES, Sigma Portfolio, No. 16
London: Project Sigma, October 1964

First edition, single sheet, 8” x 13”, 2 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: effectively a cover letter explaining the Sigma project which was designed to be sent along with Sigma material for free.

17. [Trocchi, Alexander]. PUBLIC RELATIONS – SELECTIVE LIST OF INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANTS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 17
London: Project Sigma, October 1964

First edition, single sheet, 8” x 13”, 2 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: a list of individuals who were willing to be associated with the project including William Burroughs, Robert Creely, Anthony Burgess, John Arden, Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, Jeff Nuttall, Timothy Leary, and others.

18. [Trocchi, Alexander?]. MANIFESTO SITUATIONISTE: PROJECT SIGMA EDITION, Sigma Portfolio, No. 18

19. Brakhage, Stan and Alexander Trocchi. LETTER FROM STAN BAKHAGE TO TROCCHI, Sigma Portfolio, No. 19
London: Project Sigma, November 1964

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 4 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: two letters, one from Stan Brakhage to Alexander Trocchi and the second is Trocchi’s reply.

20. Wilson, Colin. EXISTANTIALISM: A REAPPRAISAL, Sigma Portfolio, No. 20

21. ESSAY BY MICHAEL MCCLURE, Sigma Portfolio, No. 21
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: Michael McClure – “Revolt” [published in Meat Science Essays (City Lights, 1963)]

Note: prefatory paragraph notes that this essay was published in lieu of Sigma Portofolio, No. 9 which was not issued.

22. [Trocchi, Alexander]. CULTURAL ENGINEERING PROJECTS: THE HOLDING COMPANY, Sigma Portfolio, No. 22
London: Project Sigma, October 1964

First edition, single sheet, 8” x 13”, 2 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: Trocchi text proposing the formation of a limited company to “exploit the many and various cultural engineering projects” arising from Sigma.

23. White, Kenneth. JARGON PAPER NO 1, Sigma Portfolio, No. 23

24. Fernandez, Pablo. POEMS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 24

25. Hellawell, Neil. POTLATCH CONT., Sigma Portfolio, No. 25

26. Creeley, Robert. AN AMERICAN SENSE, Sigma Portfolio, No. 26
London: Project Sigma, 1964

First edition, corner-stapled, 8” x 13”, 6 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: Robert Creeley – “An American Sense”

27. Creeley, Robert. POETRY, Sigma Portfolio, No. 27

28. Castalio Foundation. EXPERIENTIAL WORKSHOPS, Sigma Portfolio, No. 28

29. [?]

30. Trocchi. Alexander. INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION, Sigma Portfolio, No. 30

31. Trocchi. Alexander. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE “SPECTACULAR” COMMODITY-ECONOMY, Sigma Portfolio, No. 31

32. Burroughs, William. THE INVISIBLE GENERATION, Sigma Portfolio, No. 32

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Jeff Nuttall

Jeff Nuttall, Todmorden, photograph © David Trace

Jeff Nuttall was a prolific artist and poet but he was also a jazz musician, critic, social commentator, theatrical innovator and influential teacher. In an obituary, the poet Michael Horovitz fittingly described him as ‘a catalyst, perpetrator and champion of rebellion and experiment in the arts and society’. Certainly, Nuttall worked at the margins, creating artworks, performances and writings which challenged moral and political orthodoxies and continually tested the boundaries of social acceptability and public taste. Whilst Nuttall’s creative output – in all its forms – relentlessly confronted authoritarianism, it fundamentally celebrated the nature of what it is to be human with a wonder and rawness which is sometimes comic, sometimes disturbing.

Born in Clitheroe, Nuttall spent his youth in Herefordshire’s Welsh borders, but returned north to live in Lancashire and Yorkshire for a number of periods throughout his adult life. After leaving art college, his early work demonstrates a preoccupation with the human figure but his involvement in the late 1950s London jazz scene and the early activities of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament provided new subjects for exploration through writings and drawings.

Nuttall soon became a pivotal figure in Sixties’ British ‘counter-culture’. He played a key role within the international ‘underground’ press and literary scene, exchanging writings and ideas with fellow thinkers in the United States and Europe – such as William Burroughs, Carl Weissner, Alexander Trocchi, Bob Cobbing and Dom Sylvester Houedard – initiating small journals such as the anarchic cut-up My Own Mag or collaborating on various publishing projects. Much of this is chronicled in Bomb Culture, his semi-autobiographical account published in 1968.

In the Sixties, Nuttall also started working with found objects and soft materials – often using stockings and kapok – to create a series of assemblages which resembled dishevelled or distorted human body parts. Sometimes, these objects would be left in luggage lockers to be discovered later at random. Occasionally, they formed part of a performance, environment or “happening”, an informal, often spontaneous, transient multi-media event which usually involved audience participation. His contribution to the early development of happenings in Britain was particularly important through collaborations and connections with a coterie of artists involved with Group H, the Drury Lane Arts Lab and sTigma.

Happenings merged into the burgeoning field of ‘performance art’ when, in 1966, Nuttall founded the People Show, an eclectic group of artists and performers which took their live acts and improvisational interventions onto the streets, into telephone boxes and public toilets. Since then, attracting a diverse range of artists, musicians and practitioners, the People Show has maintained Nuttall’s legacy with its commitment to the production of experimental multi-disciplinary performances.

In the 1980s, with spells in Australia, Portugal, London, Lancashire and then shifting to the rural borders of Wales, Nuttall returned to painting – producing a series of expressionistic landscapes and reliefs which marry the eroticism of his earlier drawings with a heightened awareness of the fecundity of nature.

From the 1960s through to the mid-1980s, Nuttall was an inspirational teacher, first at Leeds Polytechnic and then as Head of Fine Arts at Liverpool Polytechnic, promoting experimental approaches and crossing creative boundaries. Alongside his teaching, Nuttall steadily acquired a reputation as a significant poet of his generation, publishing collections of his own work and regularly contributing to various literary journals such as Ambit. Throughout his life, Nuttall was a compelling critical commentator on contemporary and popular culture. His writings demonstrate a postmodern sensibility – he saw no paradox in bringing together the ideas of the French essayist and philosopher Georges Bataille and the Blackpool comedian Frank Randle. Above all, Nuttall remained passionate about the emancipatory role of the arts in creating a more humane and open society and he expressed this many times and in many places. By the time of his death in 2004, Nuttall had published an extensive body of work including novels, graphic novelettes, poetry, biographies, critical writings on popular culture and adult comics, many of which are now documented and shown on this website.

—Gillian Whiteley

References consulted:

    • Better Books/Better Bookz: Art, Anarchy, Apostasy, Counter-culture & the New Avant-garde, edited by Rozemin Keshvani, Axel Heil, and Peter Weibel
      London: Koenig Books, 2018
    • Bob Cobbing & Writers Forum, edited by Peter Mayer
      Ceolfrith Arts/Sunderland Arts Centre, October 1974
      Published as Ceolfrith 26. (ref. Mayer)
    • Maynard, Joe and Barry Miles. William S. Burroughs: A Bibliography, 1953-73: Unlocking Inspector Lee’s Word Hoard
      Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1978. (ref. M&M)

Online resources:

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