archives Jean-Dominique CARRE Contemporary Art
avant-gardes of the sixties and seventies
10 rue de la grande chaumière f -75006 paris france
archives.carre (at) wanadoo.fr
http://archives.carre.pagesperso-orange.fr
http://archives.carre.pagesperso-orange.fr
ben vautier
Ben VAUTIER: Untitled (Ben sous Klein = Klein sous Ben)
Multiple. Mail Art. Attitude Art.
A square cardboard sheet, 17.5x17.5 cm, one side painted all over in blue acrylic (IKB monochrome). On the other side, number in the edition and signature, in black ballpoint pencil.
Edition of 100 numbered and signed copies. (1960).
This piece should come with a rubberstamp "Ben sous Klein = Klein sous Ben", as it is referenced in the catalogue of the show at the MAC, Marseille and in the book 'Tout Ben', 1974, p. 48. We have not this rubberstamp, but we do have a certificate by Ben made in 1997, that we join to the piece.
Text of the certificate: Typed: "The xerox copy you sent me is a part of a mail art piece made in 1960 accompanied by a rubber stamp "Ben sous Klein = Klein sous Ben" (Photo you will find in the catalogue of the Mac Marseille and in the book Tout Ben, page 48, in the section Vrais Real, Pastiches Fake et Faux False) n°../100 considered as a mail art piece Attitude Art." Handwritten in black felt pencil: "It is rare" and Ben's signature.
"En Janvier 1961, j'aî pastiché pour créer. Lorsque je pastiche pour créer, la création originale est dans l'intention que je porte en moi de créer une personnalité en pastichant. Il faut qu'un faux Klein par Ben soit un faux Klein par Ben et non un faux Klein seulement. Jusqu'à nos jours, l'Artiste ignorait encore la beauté du postiche par peur de ne pas être original. Car, soit il pastiche pour pasticher et accorde moins de valeur à son pastiche qu'à l'original. Soit, il pastiche inconsciemment et croit être personnel. Soit, il pastiche en manière de plaisanterie. Mes Pastiches sont accompagnés d'un Certificat d'authenticité de Pastiche. BEN."
BEN (VAUTIER): D'ont Smoke
Multiple. Object.
Red cardboard cigar box (trademark: "Vautier Prestige"!).
Cigarillos, cardboard box and a loose white card sheet with handwritten text and number in the edition in black felt pen.
Box, closed: 12.6x18.8x3.8 cm.
Early '60ies.
Edition of 300 handnumbered copies, signed "Ben Vautier" the way he was signing at this early period, before he started signing only "Ben".
Ben VAUTIER: Untitled
Announcement.
Piece of wood, 10x7.6x0.4 cm, in a postcard shape. Both sides.
On the front, various rubberstamps, yellow paint and handwritten text.
On the back, handwritten recipient's address with poststamp and mail date rubberstamp (11-2-1960).
Announcement sent to the famous Parisian art dealer Iris Clert for the opening of his show, November 12, 1960, Rubberstamp text: "Invitation personnelle au vernissage qui aura lieu au laboratoire 32 rue Tondutti de L'Escarêne à Nice"; 1960. BEN Expose et Manifeste. 12 NOV 1960".
Ben VAUTIER: Ben Expose Partout
Artist poster.
Black letterpress on white paper. printed on one side.
42x30 cm.
1964.
Folded in four (fold traces). Very Good+.
Ben VAUTIER: Quelques Idées
Artist book.
Unpaginated (18p.). Bound with two metallic clips. Offset lithograph.21.5x16.5 cm. Self-published, copyright 1965.
Ben VAUTIER: Tout N° 13A
Artist book.
Unpaginated (18p.). Bound with two metallic clips. Frontcover printed offset + "13A" handwritten in dark red felt pen by Ben. 21.5x16.5 cm. n.d. Mounted inside the front cover, a small envelope containing 11 printed cards, complete. Self-published.
BEN (VAUTIER): Fourre-Tout #2
Edition.
A large brown paper regular mail envelope (32.5x25 cm), containing many different things, (as an holdall does), mainly works on paper sheets: list of contents, texts, drawings, rubber stamps..., but also a piece of sugar, a piece of film, etc. On one side, rubber stamped: "Fourre Tout #2", and on the other one, recipient's address, post stamps, and Ben's address in Nice at the time. Original contributions by Erebo, A. Tomkins, Miralda, E. Cunegonde, Kosugi, Vialat, M. Alocco, L. Castro, D. Spoerri, Ben, Chubac, Buren-Mosset-Parmentier-Toroni (BMPT), Gilli, Fluxus, D. Biga, P.A. Gette, Sonia, Knizak, J. Cortes, Koering, D. Rot, T. Schmitt, J. Giraud, E. Andersson (Andersen), G. Brecht, Tinguely, Fahri, Bertholo, Gerstner, Arrrabal, M. Lemaître, Panderma, U. Nespolo. Eidion of 250 numbered copies. 1967.
From the list of contents, could be lacking: the letter by Gette, 1 match by Spoerri or Knizak,1 music score by Ben for Koering,1 sunflower seed by Tinguely. But many things are inclued in the envelope which are not listed and are anonymous. The Gette's letter, for instance, could be a piece of yellow paper with a rubber stamped text which is not listed. And so on. More than an holdall, it is a mess.
BEN (VAUTIER): Ben, io sono sicuro che un giorno rimpiangerai d'aver esposto al Punto
Artist book.
(20)p./pl. Texts and photos. Softbound. 16.5x12 cm. Published for the show at Galleria Il Punto, Torino, 1971.
BEN VAUTIER: 22 cm
Multiple. Object.
Scholar slate with text "<-22 cm-> Ben", silkprinted in white ink. 18x25.8 cm. Edition of 80 copies, numbered and signed in blue ink in the wooden frame, lower left.
From Chorus #7, 1971.
BEN (VAUTIER) Les Paravents à la Galerie De la Salle. Vence
Artist postcards. Exhibition catalogue.
Catalogue-annoucement for the show "Les Paravents" organized by Ben at Galerie De la Salle in Vence, France. Opening Auust 6, 1971. 22 postcards, 9.5x14.4 cm, by Tomkins, Tobas, Koepke, Boltanski, Ben, Steack, Soerensen, Guinochet, Dietman, Sarkis, Takako, Charlier, Le Gac, Erebo, Oldenburg, Johnson, Brecht, Filliou, Flexner, Spoerri, Bory, Fluxus.
BEN (VAUTIER): Dieu
Multiple.
A ping pong ball with the word "Dieu" silkprinted in black, mounted on a wooden panel, framed.
Panel and frame painted in black.
Paper label affixed below the ball with the printed title: "Dieu est partout donc il est dans cette balle" and numeration in the edition and signature in white paint.
On the back, another paper label reads the printed text:
"Cet objet dont la version originale fait partie du "Fond National d'Art Contemporain" accompagne l'édition originale du livre "TOUT BEN" édité par les Editions du Chêne en novembre 1974.
Il en a été tiré 100 exemplaires signés et numérotés et 10 exemplaires hors commerce".
Edition of 100, signed and numbered.
29x29.3x3.7 cm.This multiple was created to accompany the 100 copies of the deluxe edition of the following artist monograph:
Tout Ben. 1975
Artist monograph/catalogue raisonné. 1975.
215pp., profusely illustrated. Text in French. Black cloth-covered hard covers. 23.7x24.5 cm.
Catalogue raisonné of the Ben's work from 1956 through 1974: Créations / Poésie et textes théorique / Actions et gestes / Théâtre, Cinéma, Musique. Biographie - Ce que les autres pensent de moi - Expositions, concerts - Bibliographie.
Editions du Chêne, Paris, 1975.
One of the 100, numbered.
Monograph and multiple were released and come together.
BEN (VAUTIER): Art
Unique piece.
Acrylic on an old register book. Mounted on a wooden panel painted yellow. 36.8x51x5.3cm.
Text of the certificate by Ben: "This work is a part of an edition of the word "ART" on ANYTHING I choose. Each piece is unique". 1975.
Fine.
Provenance: Private collection.
BEN (VAUTIER): Textes théoriques, Tracts. "C'est Idiot"
Artist book.
Text in French. Soft cover. 23.1x16.7 cm. G. Politi Editore, Milan, Italy, 1975. 1st Edition of 1000 copies. The printed title on the front cover has been covered by Ben with a square white paper label, hiding it, and bearing a new handwritten title: "C'est idiot" (it's idiot), framed and handwritten by Ben in black felt pen. SIGNED "Ben" lower on the front cover.
BEN (VAUTIER): Encore un crayon qui écrit mal Satané stylo à bille
Art work. Unique piece.
A carboard card, 16.6x24.4 cm, with a ballpoint pen mounted on it with scotch tape. Original signed handwritten text by Ben: "Encore un crayon qui écrit mal Satané stylo à bille". On the back, dedication "Joyeux Noël 1976", signed by Ben. Some foxing on the card.
BEN VAUTIER. A P'ART n° 1: VADE RETRO PINTURA!
Artist periodical.
20p. Text in French by Ben, on various artists and interviews with C. Boltanski, Olivier Mosset. B/w illustrations. Wrappers. Stapled. 29.7x21 cm. Dir. Olivier Garcin. Nice, 1977.
BEN (VAUTIER): Berlin Inventory. Berliner Inventar
Exhibition catalogue. Artist publication.
8 booklets, stapled, in a red plastic folder. 22x16.3 cm. "Préface, A Letter from Berlin, Moi Ben, je signe, Significations, Théorie, Autocritique et egoexercices, Vitrines et murs, Annie on my mind". DAAD Galerie, Berlin, Germany, October 28-November 25, 1979.
Ben VAUTIER: Abandonner l'art il y en a déjà trop. H. Flynt (Not to produce more Art There is too much already Henry FLYNT).
Unique.
Oil paint and black felt pen on wooden panel.
Use by Ben Vautier of an Henry Flynt's statement:
On the front side, text after Henry Flynt handwritten in black oil paint on yellow oil painted backgound:
"Abandonner l'art il y en a déjà trop" ("Not to produce more Art There is too much already").
On the back side, text by Ben Vautier, handwritten in black felt pen on white background:
"Citation de H. Flynt - dont je suis jaloux Hélas iréaliste (sic) J'en ai besoin de l'art Il y en pas trop. A repasser car le marker s'efface comme les pyramides avec le temps" (Quotation from H. Flynt which I am jealous of Alas irrealistic I do need art there is not too much. To draw again because the marker fades like pyramids in course of time).
38 x 51.5 cm.
c. 1984.
Provenance: Gift from Ben Vautier to a private collector.
Henry FLYNT:
"THE FIRST TASK
The first cultural task of radical intellectuals, especially whites, today, is:
(1) not to produce more Art (there is too much already);
(2) not to concede in private that non-European culture might have an "ethnic" validity".
Ben VAUTIER:
"Henry Flynt est une pierre importante de l'édifice Fluxus, la pierre la plus extrémiste, ses théories sont les plus radicales. On croirait à une blague, mais quand il nous propose de traverser les murs, on finit par y croire."
BEN (VAUTIER): Untitled
Unique piece.
Enamelled plate containing four used paintbrushes and dry paint. Diam.: 20 cm. Signed and dated 1989.
BEN (VAUTIER): La Jungle de l'Art
Edition. Game.
A copy of the deluxe edition of 50.
Painted black wooden box (every box of the deluxe edition copies is unique), containing:
a folding game board and a dice
550 cards "Histoire de l'Art" (Art History); 54 cards "C'est la Vie" (That's Life); 54 cards "Théorie" (Theory); 54 blank cards
8 plastic animals
a cardboard box
4 plastic fences
a silkprint on black cloth numbered and signed, text "La Jungle de l'Art" printed white.
a folded poster
a game rules sheet
Box: 29x36x7.8 cm.
Flammarion, Paris, 1990.
Realized in conjunction with the show held at the Centre de Création Contemporaine, CCC, Tours, France, 1988.
BEN (VAUTIER) La Jungle de l'Art
Edition. Game.
Same as above, but a copy from the normal edition.
1,100 unnumbered and unsigned.
Cardboard box.
27.7x 4.7x6.5 cm.
Ben (VAUTIER): L'Art est au Dos
Canvas mounted on a wooden stretcher frame with black acrylic paint on the reverse.
On a wooden easel.
43.5 x 24.5 x 13.5 cm.
Edition of 20, this copy #13/20.
Signed and numbered in black pencil in the lower left corner of the wooden stretcher.
Edition Catherine Issert, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, 1994.
Rare.
We are interested in purchasing artist books, multiples, prints and unique works of art by this artist.
Please contact us.Nous sommes intéressés par l'achat de livres d'artiste, estampes, multiples et oeuvres uniques de cet artiste.
Merci de nous contacter.
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Jean-Dominique CARRE Post-War and Contemporary Art
a r c h i v e s
Jean-Dominique Carre
avant-gardes of the sixties and seventiessur rendez-vous - by appointment
contact par e-mail - contact by e-mail
10 rue de la grande chaumière
f -75006 paris france
archives.carre (at) wanadoo.fr
http://archives.carre.pagesperso-orange.fr
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