What has been acknowledged as art by the greatest number of people, is, according to Jean Dubuffet, only a "parasitic substitute" pretending to be the true creation. It is to the disadvantage of the latter that the "customary art" manages to usurp the word art to its exclusive profit. In the opinion of Dubuffet, we should consider as art only those works that do not copy anything and are purely the result of the individual invention of their creators. When Dubuffet spoke about art brut, he seems not to have taken any precautions. 
Today we have to resist the temptation to take up the severe indictment, written in the categorical style of a satirical tract ; such style is not surprising in the case of an admirer of Louis-Ferdinand Céline. Professional artists, art dealers, critics - none of the auxiliary servants devoted to the system of fine arts was spared in Dubuffet’s speech. And as such system still exists, some of Dubuffet’s anathema remain appealing. We should be, however, more careful. It would be too easy to keep turning over the same old anticultural slogans. Even if Dubuffet succeeded in developing the public taste for art brut, as well as the respect (including the financial side) for it, it is to be noted that he failed in his attempt to destabilize the dominant social and cultural construction, based on the laws of the market. Art brut has not swept away the contemporary art but has acquired an indispensable place on its side. 
Dubuffet’s analyses are far from being timeless dogmas. On the contrary, they move in a network of contradictions upon which we should reflect and of which their author was aware. Let us take the example of Appel aux médecins psychiatres (Appeal to the Psychiatrists) which ends the Notice sur la Compagnie de l’Art Brut. There are two versions of the text, one from September 1948, the other from October. When we compare them we notice that Dubuffet did not mind softening his antipsychiatric convictions when he appealed for help with his collection. 
The supporters of art brut, far from trying to comprehend and develop Jean Dubuffet’s ideas, satisfy themselves much too often with repeating the same established formulas, similarly to religious articles of some sectarian doctrine. As far as abcd is concerned, we prefer critical interpretation of the writings of Jean Dubuffet, Michel Thévoz and all those who have contributed to the theory of art brut.