Dictatorship !

Performed at the request of the Nice-based artist, « Ben Vautier »

That Sunday, March 8, was a beautiful, warm and sunny day, just the way I like them.

I was in a good mood, and I said to myself : « How about going to visit my friend Benjamin at home, just to chat a little, and to help him make progress on his film ? »

No sooner said than done, I called him and he invited me to come over to his house around 2:00 PM.

Unfortunately that day, he was in a bad mood, unwilling to listen to his wife's advice, and even less so to my advice !

As soon as I got there, he pressured me to read his seemingly never-ending newsletter which he had just sent out, asking for my opinion.

Finally, we talked a little ... but suddenly, he left me abruptly.

I caught up with him a while later, and when I followed him into the editing room, he ushered me out : « Leave me alone, I have things to check. », to which I replied : « OK, I'm going to chat with Annie » ... « Yes, go on, go onnn, goooo ! »

There I was, with Annie, finally engaged in meaningful discussions ...

When suddenly, like a jack-in-the-box, he appeared, interrupting us : « Come ! We're going to have a drink, I have an appointment with Gérald at 5:00 PM Place Garibaldi ! »

Then, he hurried and rushed me : « Let's go, let's go, hurry up ! », pulling me by my arm, thus preventing me even from saying goodbye to his charming wife ... but I didn't allow it ! 😠

We arrived at Place Garibaldi at 4:30 PM, where a concert of « Nux Vomica » was taking place ... Great vibes !

5:00 PM : I went to find Gérald, asking Benjamin to stay where he was ...

5:05 PM : I came back with Gérald, but of course, Benjamin had moved his spot !

5:15 PM : Finally, we sat on the terrace of the bar in our usual place.

5:25 PM : François arrived and joined in on our conversation.

5:38 PM : At this exact moment, Benjamin shouted at me : « You talk too much, you talk too much ! » (which is a laugh coming from him : those who know him well will not contradict me! Moreover, as it is not the first time that he has said so, one could believe he is jealous of my verbosity ! 😛)

Straight up, he said something like this :
« I will give you 500 euros if you stay silent for 3 days ! »

It only took me a split second to think and then shake the hand he held out to me, saying to him :

« OK, I accept the challenge, and it will be a performance ! »

My poor friend Benjamin, if you knew me a little better, you would know that :

1. Since I was a kid, I have loved rising to challenges
2. I only place a bet if I am absolutely sure I will win

From that moment, I only spoke in writing ... 🤐

And of course, the three delinquents had a good laugh and ribbed me for the next three hours !

Monday morning, I went to my lawyer, to ask him to testify to my silence, explaining everything in writing (what a hassle 😕).

But he retorted : « That's foolish... I can only attest that you did not speak for 10 minutes in my presence and your challenge will last 3 days... No, what you need is to have this certified by all the people you encounter during this period. »

I therefore stayed at home in the afternoon, in order to prepare everything that would be necessary for the creation of this performance art piece :

1. Certificates to be signed
2. Little notes of explanation that I would show to people
3. The final diploma for Ben which would attest to and represent this performance in the form of a work of art (entirely produced by me on my PC, laser printed on laid paper and signed in oil paint)

Only 2 days left ...

During the days that followed, I asked each of my friends and all the business people I met if they would act as witnesses of my absolute silence.

As a result, I received a whole range of reactions which I share here with you :

• Lots of laughter 😄
• « I couldn't have done it ! »
• « Well done! Extraordinary ! »
• « Are you going to win money for this bet ? How much ? »
• « I too want to participate »
• etc.

On Wednesday March 11 at 6:00 PM, I called Benjamin on the phone to tell him in person that my performance was finally over !

(and I lasted 3 days, 3 × 24 h = 72 h, from March 8 at 5:38 PM to March 11 at 6:00 PM )

It was both a real ordeal to endure and a very funny and fascinating social experiment !

As witnesses of this famous evening, there were : Gérald Panighi and François Paris, two of Benjamin's artist friends who I added to the end of the list and who must have signed by now.

The poet Agnès Laurenti also called me on Wednesday afternoon, I had to hang up on her and send her a text : « Sorry, I don't have the right to speak until ... »

I called her back later to explain everything : she died laughing !

Benjamin is a difficult character : authoritarian, despotic, even totalitarian, who drives his poor wife Annie crazy (as well as me, your humble servant), and the list of his faults is so long that it would unnecessarily extend this text but I am forced to admit that :

1. He is a man of his word who keeps his commitments, and there are so few like him in this world, that I had to testify to this remarkable trait !
2. He's an artist who sometimes inspires me, like a muse (and this is the proof !)

More than the money in this challenge, what interested me was the fact that Benjamin only buys artwork from people he considers to be real artists, and in doing so, he elevated me to the pantheon of the arts !

Having been recognized by Benjamin, this great master of performances who has done it all or known them all as an art historian, was a great honor for me !

The title of this artwork was inspired by this famous anarchist quote :

• The dictatorship is : « Shut up ! »
• Democracy is : « Keep talking ! »

And in order to prevent some people from branding me as a mythomaniac, I needed proof :

So I recorded Benjamin unbeknownst to him, just to have his sincere reactions (as well as Gérald Panighi who accompanied him) :

Payday at Laboratoire 132, boulevard de Cessole, March 12, 2020 at 3:00 PM

In this audio capture, Benjamin makes one important remark :

• No artist before me has created it as a work of art : I am the only one who has done it !

(As he is always on the lookout for something new ... he was very satisfied.)

P.S : This was my second Fluxus performance, the first performed for the closing of his exhibition at 109, and about which he wrote in his newsletter dated October 3,2019 :

« I liked David Duchamp who spent his 2 minutes 33 seconds by counting out loud up to 153 »

(well, it's not quite right : I counted for 3 minutes and 33 seconds ...)