« Les distiques de Ninin et Rasto »
I see no precedent for such an exhibition in the history of art
This new century seems to see the birth of a new state of mind.
The painting is changing. This change is done in a natural way, in a climate of friendly artistic emulation. The changes it implies are imperceptible but very real.
They are on two levels, the artistic plan and the societal plan.
However, when one thinks, as is my case, that the artist is one of those who "enlighten" society and make it evolve, this societal change must be analyzed as much as artistic evolution.
The artistic evolution of this century is the appearance of a new Painting made of the meeting between two worlds that had evolved in parallel for sixty years, modern art and street art.
The societal evolution is that of the end of the battle of the egos. The street artists, actors of this new painting, multiply the collaborations in the street. This spontaneous and friendly practice is the discreet sign of the evolution of mentalities.
The friendship until then in the art was rather a source of emulation to go always further than the other, to be the first, the best, or, at least to show to the other in friendly jousting that is not better than oneself.
For example, faced with the work of the "Demoiselles d'Avignon" of his friend Picasso, Van Dongen, stung in his friendship not without rivalry with him, realizes a large painting called "Les Lutteuses de Tabarin", tawny opposition to the revolutionary realization of Picasso, cubism. While Marcel Duchamp, knowing that he will never be the greatest painter after seeing what his friend Picasso could do, decides to move towards other forms of expression and manages to be as important as him by making accept that "everything is art".
All these artists are alone in front of their creation to carry it to the highest of itself. It was only in the second half of the 20th century that the vision of the demiurge artist evolved.
Real artistic duets appear where two individuals are on the same plane, forming only a creative entity. We think of Gilbert and George, Pierre and Gilles ... Love duets who put together their signature on their common works. However, Gilbert and George declare: "There is no collaboration, G & G is two people and one artist. The personal ego is erased to blend into that of the entity they created.
A real notion of collaboration has emerged in art at the beginning of the century with street artists who create, either punctually in free camaraderie, or because of groupings by friendly affinities, works with several hands in the street.
Ninin and Jérôme Rasto are among these artists. But their collaboration goes even further than a work of juxtaposition, entourage, symmetry with the work of the other; they mix their distinct universes in a work so uniform that uninitiated people would think that only one artist existed.
Ninin and Rasto, following their street collaborations, without losing their own identity as an artist, have chosen to unite spontaneously the time of a gallery exhibition.
This exhibition of works in four hands in which they imbricate their two worlds on the same works is unprecedented and represents the new era in which we entered, the end of the battle of egos.
Ben says in one of his works "to change art destroy ego". He who criticized and ridiculed the art world so much, mocking his way with the fluxus movement, and working a lot on the notion of "ego", seems to have put his finger on what could change it, the end of the ego. Art would then be truer, more authentic.
The ego has always been defined as a narcicistic trait, but in fact it is what prevents one from turning towards the other. The theme of the exhibition proposed by Ninin and Jérôme Rasto speaks of this new form of approach to the other: a people who comes to the lands of another people, is welcomed by this one; they look together at the stars shining in the sky and share their knowledge. This is how Ninin and Jerome Rasto see their friendship and would like to see the world turn. They wonder if this is not utopia but by putting it themselves into practice the question no longer arises: this exhibition is a sincere approach of two friends who, together, have different things to say from what they say separately, unite to express them, and work for that purpose in unison and harmoniously. On a societal level, would it be the human being who evolves?
Sophie Roussard
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