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This article looks at three contemporary artists who question the possibility of saying the truth. Through a comparative study of the works of Jenny Holzer, Joseph Kosuth and Carl Andre, this article concentrates on the way ordinary language intrudes within the frame of art. The three artists associate their minimalist practices with an absolutist vision of ordinary language (through aphorisms, dictionary entries or absolute notions) where the presence of language within the frame of the artwork allows for a reflection on language’s truth potential. In so doing, they show us the poetic potential of ordinary language and unite the spectator’s visual experience to a philosophical enquiry where the question at stake is that of the very possibility of telling the truth.