aalliicceelleessccaannnnee&ssoonniiaaddeerrzzyyppoollsskkii — NégoPif — Michèle didier Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: June 1 → July 28, 2018

NégoPif — Galerie mfc-michèle didier La galerie mfc-michèle didier présente NégoPif, une édition qui revient sur un projet du malicieux duo d'artistes dont la mise en e... 1 - Pas mal Critique

mfc-michèle didier is pleased to present NégoPif, an exhibition and performance by aalliicceelleessccaannnnee&ssoonniiaaddeerrzzyyppoollsskkii.

NégoPif — Project presentation

In September 2013, aalliicceelleessccaannnnee&ssoonniiaaddeerrzzyyppoollsskk ii created an edition entitled “Pif” which, sealed in a plastic envelope, brought together various prints created by the artists as well as a copy of a book from the popular French encyclopedic Que sais-je? series. The editions are characterised by the fact that their prices vary greatly, from a mere ten euros to hundreds or thousands depending only on the issue of Que sais-je? that has been included inside. Each price tag is carefully justified, albeit in a somewhat absurd manner.

Here are some examples:

• The “Pif” including a Que sais-je? dedicated to Flower Names is on sale for 325 000 euros: the exact number of flower species currently known and inventoried on earth.

• The “Pif” including a Que sais-je? dedicated to Complexes was offered for 1500 euros: the average price of a nose job in France.

• The “Pif” including a Que sais-je? dedicated to Attila and the Huns is for sale for 111 euros: three times the number one. (…the joke works better in French of course, playing on the resonance of “Huns” et “uns”)

• The “Pif” including a Que sais-je? dedicated to Fertilizer and Manure can be purchased for the price of Bernard Tapie, dead or alive.

Thirty copies of the edition were shown for the very first time at mfc-michèle didier in November 2013. On this occasion, a curator from the Bibliothèque Kandinsky chose to purchase the “Pif” containing a Que sais-je? on The Art Critic… it’s price was “negotiable”.

The exchange value of this piece could have been agreed upon behind closed doors during a meeting between the Bibliothèque Kandinsky, mfc-michèle didier and aalliicceelleessccaannnnee&ssoonniiaaddeerrzzyyppoollsskkii. However, its asking price was determined in reverse of the usual procedure for a museum: the artists offered the Bibliothèque to undertake a public bartering which would involve an epistolary exchange. The latter accepted this proposal, while Michèle Didier facilitated the project by withdrawing from all transactions in order to benefit the two artists.

The letters were thus gradually published on www.negopif.com between November 2014 and December 2016. The artists’ aim was to fix a price that would be neither arbitrary nor discretionary. They wanted to know who really profits from the exchange when an institution purchases a work: the artist? the museum? the public? no one?