'' Conference on Total Art | A history of performance art on the Riviera from 1951 until now

Conference on Total Art

Performance type: 
Conférence
Creator: 
Ben
Arman
Performer: 
Ben
Arman
Bibliographical sources: 
témoignage d'Arman in catalogue A propos de Nice 1977, p.15
Producer: 
Ben
Jacques Lepage
Website: 
//www.ben-vautier.com/
Occurence: 
Description: 

Ben gives a conférence on “Everything and Nothing.” It is there that he will defend his manifesto on the Nouveau, written and copied just before.

At a conference dubbed “Everything and nothing,” Ben had, to give tribute to Manzone, put one of his turds in a small transparent box, with one split side so that all could smell that it was indeed a real turd...The box goes into the audience and returns...empty. “It was happening!”

That day, Arman, already famous, challenges Ben to sell his shirt, which should yield a large profit if the artist is as important as he claims to be. Ben takes off his shirt and puts it up for auction…going up to ± 20 francs. And it’s Arman who wins it; he takes out his checkbook. Ben, initially furious because his shirt had cost him more than that à Prisu, thinks fast, takes the check and exclaims, “I have an Arman: a check signed by Arman!” Arman corrects him, “I just signed it with my name: Armand Fernandes…”

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