49 - Jean DUBUFFET. Letter to the Service for Artistic Exchanges Abroad. Paris, August 26, 1945.

Jean DUBUFFET. Letter to the Service for Artistic Exchanges Abroad. Paris, August 26, 1945. Signed typewritten letter, 1 page, in-8 format. Stamped “Service d’Action Artistique à l’Étranger. August 28, 1945.” Approached by the Ministry of Fine Arts to participate in a national propaganda project in Scotland, Dubuffet clearly expresses an unconventional artistic vision, proposing not to exhibit paintings but simply to go to the fair in Edinburgh. “If our shepherds become terrorists, then that’s frightening; it’s like a regime where the colonel would decorate deserters. If it’s too late—if nothing can stop this tide anymore—if this event in Edinburgh can no longer be prevented, then so be it! Let’s see this upheaval through to the end; let’s put art back on its true ground, which is that of attraction and celebration. So then, no art fairs, since nothing is more pretentious and boring than art fairs, but let’s instead hang appropriate paintings in a space where we throw a party—or at the very least, dance and eat fries. And as for these paintings, let’s have the local villagers create them themselves (they’ll do it much better) without all the hassle of framing and shipping. If we absolutely must transport something, then transport me—I’d love to go to the fair with those Scots.” A pencil note requests that a copy of this letter be made to present to Mr. Erlanger (Philippe Erlanger, then director of the AFAA and the artistic exchanges department).