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French artist Ben Vautier, known simply as Ben, has passed away at the age of 88. The influential Fluxus artist took his own life just hours after the death of his wife Annie, his family announced on Wednesday. Ben leaves behind a legacy of provocative, humorous and thought-provoking works that challenged the boundaries of art.
Benjamin Vautier, the French artist known mononymously as Ben, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88. In a tragic turn of events, Ben took his own life mere hours after the death of his beloved wife Annie, to whom he had been married for 60 years. According to a statement released by the couple’s children, Eva and Francois, Annie suffered a stroke on Monday evening and died on Wednesday. “Unwilling and unable to live without her, Ben killed himself a few hours later at their home” in Nice, France.
Born in Naples, Italy, in 1935, Ben moved to Nice at the age of 14 and spent the remainder of his life in the French Mediterranean city. He became associated with the Fluxus movement of the 1960s, which sought to disrupt traditional notions of art through provocative, street-based irony. Ben’s unique style and approach proved highly influential, and his famous motto, “Everything is art,” encapsulated his philosophy.
Rather than creating traditional artworks, Ben made “gestures” that challenged the boundaries of art. These included standing in the window of a gallery and shouting until he lost his voice, organizing plays that never happened and staging piano recitals where the pianist would run away. He was also known for signing anything he wanted, claiming it as his creation, from the bodies of passers-by on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice to the works of other artists.
While some in the art world considered Ben an opportunist and dilettante for ignoring the “protected framework of museums” and refusing to see art as the fruit of training and talent, he insisted that there was always a serious message behind his jokes. “I am not a money machine, but a communication machine,” he once said.
Ben’s most recognizable works were his humorous slogans, typically painted in white on a black background using a childlike handwriting. These thought-provoking phrases, such as “What is the use of art?”, “Is the new always new?” and “What are you doing here?”, earned him a place in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and were widely replicated on everyday objects, from school bags to tram stops in Nice.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Ben, stating, “On our children’s pencil cases, on so many everyday objects and even in our imaginations, Ben left his mark, made of freedom and poetry, of apparent lightness and overwhelming depth.” Culture Minister Rachida Dati also honored the artist, calling him a “goldsmith of language” and noting that “the world of culture has lost a legend.”
With AFP
