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Starting from the transgressive force of the signature used by some contemporary artists, we propose a triple approach to the act of signing. From a semiotic point of view, the signature is a sign of identity and validation, invented in the royal chanceries. It joins the particular semantism of a proper name and the force of presence of an index as an autographic sign. From a diplomatic point of view, the signature, the seal and the signum appear together under the texts, shaping a hierachized system of juridical actants. The signature is also a sign that should be understood inside a larger agency connected to the genesis of acts, their making and their archives. The observation of these practices today invites us to consider the performativity of the act of signing inside a general theory of the acts of writing.