In les aveugles the blind, created in 1986, she questioned blind people on their representation of beauty. Her work methodically organizes an unveiling of reality her own and that of others, while allocating a controlled part of this reality to chance. The work of conceptual artist sophie calle embraces numerous media. To staff and visitors of bostons isabella stewart gardner museum, where more than a dozen objects and works of art were stolen in march 1990, sophie calle recently posed this simple question.
Mar 07, 2009 sophie calles art mixes image and text to provoke the kind of intense emotional response usually inspired by epic literature or film. Working across photography, film, and text, her oftcontroversial projects involve thorough documentation of other peoples lives and her interactions with them, as seen in her work suite venitienne 1980 wherein the artist followed a stranger from paris to venice. After finding a lost address book, the artist sets out to understand i. Mas tu vue, exhibition catalogue, centre georges pompidou, paris 2003, reproduced pp. Sophie calles art mixes image and text to provoke the kind of intense emotional response usually inspired by epic literature or film. Sophie calle, louise lawler, richard misrach, diane neumaier, richard ross, thomas struth. Rachel monique tells the story of monique szyndler, sophie calles mother who died in 2007, through diary excerpts and photographs selected by the artist from family albums. Calles most recent cultural hit was the 2007 venice biennale piece take care of yourself, in which calle asked women to read a breakup email from. The address book, a key and controversial work in sophie calles oeuvre, lies at the epicenter of many layers of reality and fiction. Of sophie to boarding school when he came to visit my mother, would sit on expectantly at him. The fertile mind of sophie calle the new york times. Her most extraordinary works address rather ordinary human tendencies, from the morbid curiosity informing lhomme au carnet the address book, 1983 to the amorous betrayal of douleur exquise exquisite pain, 19842003, but calle knows how to up the. When a boyfriend brokeup with her by email, french artist sophie calle asked 107 women to read the letter and to analyse it according to their professional interest. Double game was the first major publication in english by french artist sophie calle born 1953, and is her bestselling title to date.
Below it, three columns of italic text are diary entries describing findings in the hotel room between sunday 22 february 1981 and tuesday 24. In this remarkable artists book, french conceptual artistprovocateur sophie calle presents 107 outside interpretations of a breakup email she received from her lover the day he ended their affair. I take up position outside the home of the subject, 22 rue liancourt, paris 14th. Sep 03, 2008 when a boyfriend brokeup with her by email, french artist sophie calle asked 107 women to read the letter and to analyse it according to their professional interest. Published in 1984, sophie calles lhotel is a perfect book. Sophie calle wants you to carry your secrets to the graveto the greenwood cemetery, to be precise. Calles work is distinguished by its use of arbitrary sets of constraints, and evokes the french literary movement of the 1960s known as oulipo. From the beginning, she has exhibited in galleries and international museums. Now, the address book, a key and controversial work in calles oeuvre, is being published for the first time in its entirety in english as a. May 11, 2017 calles most recent cultural hit was the 2007 venice biennale piece take care of yourself, in which calle asked women to read a breakup email from a former boyfriend, curating the results.
In a 2008 conversation between artists sophie calle and jill magid, calle noted that lhomme au carnet aka the address book, 1983 was her only work to date where she went. She may be a an excellent stalker, but in her pursuit of strangers, calle presents a. Her work reflects that inevitable baudelaire phrase, poetry is for everyone. A controversial figure as well as one of frances leading conceptual artists, sophie calle explores her own psychological and emotional terrain in multimedia works, probing ideas of control, freedom, gender, intimacy, and distance in human relationships. A lot of people here write very negatively about postmodern. Described as haunting and a mystery novel that tirelessly searches for a missing person, the rachel monique project honors a daughters. Sophie calle et son invitee serena carone is calles first exhibition in france since her retrospective at the centre pompidou in 2003, though she had a major retrospective at fort mason in san francisco earlier this year. Born in paris, calle traveled for seven years after completing her studies.
Her work often incorporates elements of voyeurism, surveillance, and personal narrative to explore the nature of love, intimacy, violence and death. Sophie calle in her home studio in the paris suburb of malakoff. In the address book, the french artist sophie calle found an address book on a paris street, photocopied its pages, and returned it to its owner. Her playful lifeasart work doesnt stop with magazine photo shoots. See available photographs, prints and multiples, and sculpture for sale and learn about the artist. Jan 01, 2004 sophie calle is a french writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist. Nov 01, 2015 in the address book, the french artist sophie calle found an address book on a paris street, photocopied its pages, and returned it to its owner. Sep 30, 2012 the address book, a key and controversial work in sophie calle s oeuvre, lies at the epicenter of many layers of reality and fiction. Since the late 1970s, sophie calle has merged image and narration. Sophie calle is a french writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist.
She then embarked on a search to come to know this stranger by contacting listed individualsin essence, following him through the map. Featuring a stamped pink metallic cover, multiple paper changes, special boundin booklets, bright. Find an indepth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices. Books by sophie calle all formats hardcover paperback sort by. She then began contacting the peoplein essence, following him through the map of his family, friends, lovers, and acquaintances. This commodity does not happen to be bronze or marble, however, but information, the elusive stuff that circulates constantly between consciousness, document and cyberspace. In the early nineteeneighties, the french artist sophie calle, who is known for projects that involve immersing herself in the lives of strangers or allowing strangers a view of her own life. Sophie calles the address book, an excerpt the new yorker. Over the course of her 38yearlong career, sophie calle has established herself as one of frances most celebrated conceptual artists. Sophie calle is certainly best known for her photography work, but her photographs more than often come with the writings or become a cornerstone for her video and installation works. Sophie calle, the tie, for parkett 36 the parkett books. For the next quarter century, the french artist and creative time invite you to jot down. Sophie calle, the tie, for parkett 36 the parkett books and.
Roger scruton, in his excellent essay photography and representation concluded that what makes photography a uniqe medium is the fact that it is essentially a mechanical process and as such it cannot be representational unlike painting or other representational arts photography has no intention to represent something else. Perhaps her most contentious work, address book 1983 was inspired by an address book. Apr 10, 2017 sophie calle in her home studio in the paris suburb of malakoff. With blind, french conceptual artist sophie calle born 1953 revisits three earlier works constructed around the idea of blindness. Sophie calles written accounts of these encountersjuxtaposed with her photographsoriginally appeared as serial in the french newspaper liberation over the course of one month in 1983. Critics of calles work often describe it as mere snooping. Amelia gentleman talks to sophie calle, frances most famous conceptual artist, about the upsides of misery, the pull of the bizarre and the joy of being in a paul auster novel. Filmed march 30, 2011, as part of ccas photography lecture series, in timken lecture hall on the san francisco campus of california college.
Now that i think of it 99% of my books have pictures in them. Sophie calle published the photographs within the diarylike report of her observations, in the book entitled ecrit sur limage. Sophie married drausin arsene billard on month day 1832, at age 29 at marriage place. Sophie calle demonstrates a great social awareness. Calle turns the viewer or reader into an accomplice of her voyeurism filling them, too, with the urge to move unobserved through anothers private sphere. This comprehensive retrospective of sophie calle not only celebrates the breadth of her iconoclastic work but also leads to a deeper understanding of her unique artistic vision. Oct 08, 2012 in the early nineteeneighties, the french artist sophie calle, who is known for projects that involve immersing herself in the lives of strangers or allowing strangers a view of her own life. She then embarked on a search to come to know this stranger by contacting listed individualsin essence, following him through the.
Gardners will stipulates that the arrangement of works in her namesake museums galleries never be altered, so for several years after the theft. In the upper part, the title room 47 is printed below a colour photograph of elegantly carved wooden twin headboards behind a bed covered in rich brown satin. Often controversial, calle s projects explore issues of voyeurism, intimacy, and identity. The haunting story of sophie calles mother, told through diary excerpts and family photographs she was called successively rachel, monique, szyndler, calle, pagliero, gonthier, sindler, reads the first lines of sophie calle.
In 1981, calle took a job as a chambermaid at a venice hotel and secretly photographed the rooms in the absence of the guests. Over the course of her 38yearlong career, sophie calle has established herself as. The address book, a key and controversial work in sophie calle s oeuvre, lies at the epicenter of many layers of reality and fiction. Paris, france, 1953 uses the mediums of photography, video, film, books, text, and performance to pursue her sociological and autobiographical investigations. Intrusive, invasive, inquisitive calle the new york. From 2005, she also works as the professor at european graduate school in saasfee, switzerland, teaching film and photography. Lhotel calle turns the viewer or reader into an accomplice of her voyeurism filling them, too, with the urge to move unobserved through anothers private sphere. We use cookies to deliver our online services and to provide more personalized services to you. Sophie calle is a contemporary french conceptual artist known for her explorations of personal relationships and chance events. Many of her works juxtapose writing and photography to question. If the name turner rings a bell, its because a writer named turner is the subject of rita malus detective work. Having found a lost address book on the street in paris, calle copied the pages before returning it anonymously to its owner. Sep 28, 2011 filmed march 30, 2011, as part of ccas photography lecture series, in timken lecture hall on the san francisco campus of california college of the arts. Like a sculptor of a past century, sophie calle in her art manipulates and reconfigures a commodity central to the economy of her time.
Jul, 2016 first auster managed to seduce calle with the novel leviathan 1992, featuring a character named maria turner based on the real conceptual artist sophie calle. The detective in april 1981, at my request, my mother wc. This is a twopart framed work comprising photographs and text. Calle s work is distinguished by its use of arbitrary sets of constraints, and evokes the french literary movement of the 1960s known as oulipo. Since the 1980s, her work has been shown at galleries and museums throughout the world, including the whitney museum of american art and the museum of modern art, new york, tate modern, london and pariss centre pompidou, which hosted a major retrospective in 2005.
Her work frequently depicts human vulnerability, and examines identity and intimacy. The sensation that has lingered from an artists talk sophie calle gave at the school of visual arts in new york years ago is the thrilling suspicion that she was quite effortlessly bluffing her way through much of it. Sophie adele billard born calle was born in 1803, at birth place, to alexandre francois calle and marie rose victoire calle born letrosne. Sophie calle born 9 october 1953 is a french writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist. Published in 1984, sophie calle s lhotel is a perfect book. Ghosts reminds us again of this awareness in a beautifully simple yet challenging project. It takes the form of a double jeu or double game between the work of sophie calle and the fiction of paul auster. She then interviewed the people listed within and published the results in the french daily liberation.