He left to join his wife. Benjamin Vautier, who was known under the artist name Ben, was found dead this Wednesday, June 5, in his house located on the heights of Nice, at the age of 88. As his children indicated in a press release, the famous graphomaniac decided to end his life, a few hours after the disappearance of his wife Annie, who died following a stroke. During his long career, the man who was known for his slogans written in white handwritten letters on a black background had already referred to suicide several times, recalled our colleagues at Parisian.
In 2020, during an interview carried out for our colleagues, the octogenarian artist revealed “thinking about suicide“, an outcome he found more amusing than tragic. At the time, Ben explained that the only way to get rid of his ego, “is to kill yourself.” “This is why every Tuesday I think about suicide. I could transform myself into an ego-removal specialist“, he confided, then added with a certain detachment: “Everyone expects me to die next week (…) That’s why there are so many journalists, they are preparing my obituary! I miss world glory.“Five years ago, when he was being questioned by Nice morning for his 80th birthday, Ben once again shared his somewhat obscure wishes: “For my birthday, if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t mark it“, he assured, before letting go: “Me, it’s always suicide that I prefer.”
>> PHOTOS – These tragic deaths of personalities who have already marked the year 2024
Death of the artist Ben: his poignant message a few days before his death
After the death of his wife Annie following a stroke, the artist Ben, real name Benjamin Vautier, decided to join the one of his heart, this Wednesday, June 5. “Unwilling and unable to live without her, Ben killed himself a few hours later at home, in Saint-Pancrace, in the heights of Nice“, indicated his children in a press release posted on social networks. Before disappearing, the famous graphomaniac left a message both poignant and enigmatic, in which he spoke of his departure.
In this newsletter dated this Monday, June 3 and exhumed by our colleagues from New Obsthe 88-year-old artist wrote: “I was asked to write what the end of the world will be like it’s already here look out the window watch TV look at yourself in the mirror and jump out the window.” Upsetting words which sound like a premonition after Ben’s death. As our colleagues recalled, the person concerned “has never hidden his fascination with the macabre.“In 1961, he told the press about”[s]we intend to [s]e crushed into the shape of a car wing by a press from the Renault factory, or [s]and have it flattened by a steam roller on a canvas which would be varnished by [s]a wife after [s]to death.“
Photo credits: Bruno Bebert / Bestimage
