Il faut se méfier des mots, Installation artwork and mural at Place Frehel, Paris, France.
Il faut se méfier des mots is a mural with white text on black displayed on a building wall at the corner of Rue de Belleville and Rue Julien-Lacroix. The large lettering resembles a blackboard design and covers a substantial portion of the building's facade.
Ben Vautier created this mural in 1993, replacing an earlier message from 1989. The artwork came into being under unique circumstances related to the building's structural constraints.
The French inscription invites viewers to think critically about language and its power in shaping how we understand the world. It speaks directly to daily life in a city where messages and advertisements surround us constantly.
The mural is located at a busy corner with good bus connections and a nearby metro station. Visitors can view the entire artwork from street level without needing to enter any building or pay an admission fee.
The building could not be constructed using traditional methods because the tunnels of Metro Line 11 run beneath it and could compromise the foundation. This limitation led to the surface becoming a canvas for artistic statements instead.
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