Ben Vautier
- Introduction
- Ben Vautier (born on July 18, 1935 in Naples, Italy), also known simply as Ben, is a French artist. Vautier lives and works in Nice, where he ran a record shop called Magazin between 1958 and 1973. He discovered Yves Klein and the Nouveau Réalisme in the 1950s, but he became quickly interested in the French dada artist Marcel Duchamp, the music of John Cage. In 1959, Vautier founded the journal Ben Dieu. In 1960, he had his first one-man show, Rien et tout in Laboratoire 32. Ben joined George Maciunas in the Fluxus artistic movement in October 1962. He is also active in Mail-Art and is mostly known for his text-based paintings or « écritures » begun in 1953 with his work "Il faut manger. Il faut dormir". Another example of the latter is "L'art est inutile. Rentrez chez vous" (Art is Useless, Go Home). A notable work made for Harald Szeemann's Documenta 5 exhibition in 1972 shouts “KUNST IST ÜBERFLÜSSIG” - or “Art is Superfluous”, and was installed across the top of the Fridericianum museum in Kassel.He has long defended the rights of minorities in all countries, and he has been influenced by the theories of François Fontan about ethnism. For example, he has defended the Occitan language (southern France). In 1981 he coined the name of the French art movement of the 1980s Figuration Libre (Free figuration).
- Wikidata
- Q604546
- Nationalities
- French, British, Swiss
- Gender
- Male
- Roles
- Artist, Painter, Performance Artist, Sculptor
- Names
- Ben Vautier, Ben, Benjamin Vautier, I Ben
- Ulan
- 500011704
Exhibitions
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410: At the Border of Art and Life
Oct 21, 2019–Sep 20, 2020
MoMA
Collection gallery
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If Everything Is Sculpture Why Make Sculpture? Artist’s Choice: Peter Fischli
Jun 12, 2018–May 10, 2019
MoMA
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Thing/Thought: Fluxus Editions, 1962–1978
Sep 21, 2011–Jan 16, 2012
MoMA
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Staging Action: Performance in Photography since 1960
Jan 28–May 9, 2011
MoMA
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Altered, Stitched and Gathered
Dec 14, 2006–Jan 28, 2007
MoMA PS1
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Ben Vautier has
11 exhibitionsonline.
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Ben Vautier Poster for Sculpture vivante, Galerie d'Art Total, Nice 1959
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Ben Vautier Partie du tout à Ben 1960
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Ben Vautier Boîte mystère 1960
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Ben Vautier Boîte mystère 1960
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Ben Vautier The First Portable Hole (Le Premier trou portatif) 1960
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Ben Vautier God 1961
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Ben Vautier Le Temps 1961
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Ben Vautier Le Temps 1961
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Ben Vautier Le Temps 1961
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Ben Vautier Le Temps 1961
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Ben Vautier Prototype for Flux Colors (Je signe toutes les couleurs) 1961
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Ben Vautier Mystère No. 6 1961
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Ben Vautier Vielles chansons 1960–62
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Ben Vautier Light Bulb (La Lumière) 1962
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Ben Vautier This Room is a Ben Creation 1962
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Ben Vautier Prototype for Dirty Water (Eau sale) 1962
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Ben Vautier Prototype for Black Box (Boîte noire) 1962
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Ben Vautier Absolument n'importe quoi est art 1962
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Ben Vautier Signing certificates, performed during Fluxus Festival of Total Art and Comportment, Flea market, Nice, July 25, 1963 1963
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Ben Vautier Signing certificates, performed during Fluxus Festival of Total Art and Comportment, Flea market, Nice, July 25, 1963 1963
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Ben Vautier Poster for Sculpture vivante, Galerie d'Art Total, Nice 1959
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Ben Vautier Ben Dieu - Art total sa revue 1962–63
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Ben Vautier Art Total 1963
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Ben Vautier Disque de Musique Total 1963
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Ben Vautier Label for Mystery Food 1963
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Ben Vautier Laboratoire 32 c. 1958
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Ben Vautier Laboratoire 32 c. 1958
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Ben Vautier Certificate for Festival of Total Art and Comportment, Nice, July 27, 1963 1963
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Ben Vautier Il n'y a pas moins cher que la bourse du disque (There is nothing cheaper than the record market) c. 1958
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Ben Vautier Mystery Food 1963
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Ben Vautier Crise et dépression chez Ben (Crisis and Depression at Ben's) 1963
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Ben Vautier L'Art est pas art 1963
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Ben Vautier Poster for L'Événement théatral mondial, Nouveau Casino, Nice, France, July 27, 1963 1963
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Ben Vautier Poster for Le Théâtre d'art total, rue Tondutti de l'Escarene, Nice, July 29, 1963 1963
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Ben Vautier Je sors du trou 1963
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Takehisa Kosugi, Ben Vautier, George Brecht Simultaneous performance of Anima 1, Attache de Ben, and Solo for Violin, performed during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, New York, May 23, 1964 1964
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Various Artists, Ay-O, George Brecht, Congo (a Chimpanzee), Dick Higgins, Joe Jones, Alison Knowles, Takehisa Kosugi, Shigeko Kubota, György Sándor Ligeti, Jackson Mac Low, Benjamin Patterson, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier, Robert Watts, Emmett Williams, La Monte Young Fluxus 1 1964
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Ben Vautier Piano Piece No. 17 1963–64
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Ben Vautier Art Total 1964
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Ben Vautier Poster for For Nine Directions in Art, Gallerie Amstel, Amsterdam, November 25–December 12, 1964 1964
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Ben Vautier Mystery Box 1964
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Ben Vautier Drawing forThéâtre d'art total 1964
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Ben Vautier Flux Holes 1964
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Various Artists, George Brecht, Stanley Brouwn, Congo (a Chimpanzee), Sohei Hashimoto, Dick Higgins, Joe Jones, Alison Knowles, Takehisa Kosugi, Shigeko Kubota, György Sándor Ligeti, Jackson Mac Low, George Maciunas, Benjamin Patterson, Takako Saito, Tomas Schmit, Mieko Shiomi, Ben Vautier, Robert Watts, Emmett Williams, La Monte Young Fluxus 1 1964
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Ben Vautier Absence d'art = art (No Art = Art) 1964
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Ben Vautier Faites comme d'habitude (Business as Usual) 1963–64
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Ben Vautier Poster for Les Sept jours de recherche, Nice, October 31–November 7, 1964 1964
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Ben Vautier Program and invitation for Les Sept jours de recherche, Nice, October 31–November 7, 1964 1964
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