​Water and oil, air and fish : there is nothing more incompatible than genius and art brut. All attempt to rehabilitate the first while rearranging the second seems pointless. To the idealist notion of genius, a sort of inhibitive virus, art brut opposes the pragmatic concept of "l’homme du commun à l’ouvrage" ("the common man at work"), a notion very much valued by Jean Dubuffet. 
Art brut proves that ordinary people, as distant as possible from art and social rites that accompany its production, circulation, exchange and consumption (studios, exhibition openings, happenings, public auctions, performances, international fairs or simple bazaars) are perfectly capable, led by an irrepressible inner impulse, of creating incredible masterpieces. This might seem frustrating to those who believe that it is only that part of humanity endowed with degrees who has the right to access art. It can be disturbing to those who have been convinced by the others that in order to partake in the creative process one has to possess the God’s gift. But this depends on the experience given. 
Art brut has clearly made up its mind. Antiquity with all its riches does not impress it. It prefers the base camp of the Barbarians rather than the Romans. For each and everyone, it restores the belief in the possibility of individual creation. It fights against passivity at all times. The advantage of such program is that it is corrosive to intimidation and elitism inherent in the theory of genius, the simplistic concept that makes from artists extra-terrestrial beings and from art a domain forbidden to the common run of people.