Ben de son vrai nom Benjamin Vautier est un artiste français d'origine suisse né le 18 juillet 1935 à Naples en Italie. Il vit et travaille à Nice. Membre du groupe Fluxus et proche du Lettrisme, Ben est un artiste connu pour ses performances installations et peintures. Il devient connu du grand public à partir des années 1960 à travers notamment ses « écritures » déclinées sous divers supports et diverses formes. Il vit une partie de son enfance à Smyrne à Alexandrie, à Lausanne et arrive à Nice à 15 ans. À la fin des années 1950, il ouvre à Nice une petite boutique dont il décore la façade d'une accumulation d'objets hétéroclites et dans laquelle il vend des disques d'occasion. Dans sa boutique ou plutôt sur le trottoir se retrouvent les principaux membres de ce qui sera appelé l'École de Nice : César, Arman, Martial Raysse, Sosno, etc. Proche d'Yves Klein et séduit par le nouveau réalisme, il développe l'idée que « l'art doit être nouveau et apporter un choc ». Également admirateur d'Isidore Isou, son œuvre basée sur un principe d'écriture peinte est à rapprocher de la peinture lettriste. Au début des années 1960, il rejoint le groupe Fluxus et publie de nombreux textes. Au début des années 1980, à son retour de Berlin, il rencontre de jeunes artistes (Robert Combas, Di Rosa, François Boisrond, Rémi Blanchard, etc.) dont il baptise le mouvement "Figuration Libre", mouvement d'art figuratif caractérisé notamment par l'absence du respect des règles de la figuration classique, l'utilisation de matériaux hétéroclites et de couleurs discordantes. Il dévoile régulièrement dans ses billets (dans la revue Art Jonction, dans ses expos ou sur son site web) la face cachée du monde feutré de l'art contemporain et des agissements des personnalités (institutionnels, galeristes, artistes etc.) du monde de l'art et donne son point de vue sur l'actualité politique et culturelle. Ben a aussi publié plusieurs recueils poétiques dans l'esprit de la Beat Generation. Il a également participé à la rédaction de La Clef, atlas ethno-linguistique notamment rédigé par des membres et sympathisants comme Ben, du Parti nationaliste occitan. Il vit et travaille depuis de nombreuses années sur les hauteurs de Saint-Pancrace, colline niçoise où sa maison, chef d'œuvre personnel, se fait remarquer dans le voisinage. Il définit lui-même son art comme un « un art d'appropriation » déclarant : « Je cherche systématiquement à signer tout ce qui ne l'a pas été. Je crois que l'art est dans l'intention et qu'il suffit de signer. Je signe donc : les trous, les boîtes mystères, les coups de pied, Dieu, les poules, etc. Je vais être très jaloux de Manzoni qui signe la merde et qui me volera l'idée des sculptures vivantes. »
Ben, whose real name is Benjamin Vautier, is a French artist of Swiss origin born on July 18, 1935 in Naples, Italy. He lives and works in Nice. Member of the Fluxus group and close to the Lettrism, Ben is an artist known for his performances installations and paintings. He became known to the general public in the 1960s through his "writings" in various media and forms. He spent part of his childhood in Smyrna, Alexandria, and Lausanne and arrived in Nice at the age of 15. At the end of the 1950's, he opened a small store in Nice where he decorated the façade with an accumulation of heterogeneous objects and where he sold second-hand records. In his store, or rather on the sidewalk, were the main members of what would be called the Nice School: César, Arman, Martial Raysse, Sosno, etc. Close to Yves Klein and seduced by the new realism, he developed the idea that "art must be new and bring a shock ". Also an admirer of Isidore Isou, his work is based on the principle of painted writing and can be compared to Lettrist painting. In the early 1960s, he joined the Fluxus group and published numerous texts. At the beginning of the 1980s, on his return from Berlin, he met young artists (Robert Combas, Di Rosa, François Boisrond, Rémi Blanchard, etc.), whose movement he named "Figuration Libre", a figurative art movement characterized in particular by the absence of respect for the rules of classical figuration and the use of heterogeneous materials and discordant colors. He regularly reveals in his posts (in the magazine "Art Jonction", in his exhibitions or on his website) the hidden face of the hushed world of contemporary art and the actions of personalities (institutional, gallery owners, artists, etc.) of the art world and gives his point of view on political and cultural news. Ben has also published several collections of poetry in the spirit of the Beat Generation. He has also participated in the writing of La Clef, an ethno-linguistic atlas written by members and sympathizers like Ben, of the Occitan Nationalist Party. He has been living and working for many years on the heights of Saint-Pancrace, a hill in Nice, where his house, a personal masterpiece, is noticed in the neighborhood. He defines himself his art as an "art of appropriation" declaring: "I systematically seek to sign everything that has not been signed. I believe that art is in the intention and that it is enough to sign. I sign therefore: the holes, the mystery boxes, the kicks, God, the hens, etc. I will be very jealous of Manzoni who signs the shit and will steal the idea of living sculptures."
Ben, whose real name is Benjamin Vautier, is a French artist of Swiss origin born on July 18, 1935 in Naples, Italy. He lives and works in Nice. Member of the Fluxus group and close to the Lettrism, Ben is an artist known for his performances installations and paintings. He became known to the general public in the 1960s through his "writings" in various media and forms. He spent part of his childhood in Smyrna, Alexandria, and Lausanne and arrived in Nice at the age of 15. At the end of the 1950's, he opened a small store in Nice where he decorated the façade with an accumulation of heterogeneous objects and where he sold second-hand records. In his store, or rather on the sidewalk, were the main members of what would be called the Nice School: César, Arman, Martial Raysse, Sosno, etc. Close to Yves Klein and seduced by the new realism, he developed the idea that "art must be new and bring a shock ". Also an admirer of Isidore Isou, his work is based on the principle of painted writing and can be compared to Lettrist painting. In the early 1960s, he joined the Fluxus group and published numerous texts. At the beginning of the 1980s, on his return from Berlin, he met young artists (Robert Combas, Di Rosa, François Boisrond, Rémi Blanchard, etc.), whose movement he named "Figuration Libre", a figurative art movement characterized in particular by the absence of respect for the rules of classical figuration and the use of heterogeneous materials and discordant colors. He regularly reveals in his posts (in the magazine "Art Jonction", in his exhibitions or on his website) the hidden face of the hushed world of contemporary art and the actions of personalities (institutional, gallery owners, artists, etc.) of the art world and gives his point of view on political and cultural news. Ben has also published several collections of poetry in the spirit of the Beat Generation. He has also participated in the writing of La Clef, an ethno-linguistic atlas written by members and sympathizers like Ben, of the Occitan Nationalist Party. He has been living and working for many years on the heights of Saint-Pancrace, a hill in Nice, where his house, a personal masterpiece, is noticed in the neighborhood. He defines himself his art as an "art of appropriation" declaring: "I systematically seek to sign everything that has not been signed. I believe that art is in the intention and that it is enough to sign. I sign therefore: the holes, the mystery boxes, the kicks, God, the hens, etc. I will be very jealous of Manzoni who signs the shit and will steal the idea of living sculptures."