Sophie Calle
On
page 30 of Nicolas Bourriaud’s Relational
Aesthetics, he describes Sophie Calle’s work as “[consisting] largely in
describing her meetings with strangers.” Although this is a very hurried
summary of Calle’s work, it does capture the basic essence of what she does –
repeatedly, Calle invites others into her life, or inserts herself into theirs,
and documents the events that follow. Often she has some sort of framework in
place, but what ultimately transpires is completely unscripted, and as
simultaneously mundane and bizarre as any event in ordinary life. Calle
documents and shares these experiences, often in the form of books or prints on
gallery walls, featuring both textual and photographic accounts. The real art,
though, is in the moments of life she shares with her subjects. This aspect of
her work is also what makes it relational – the fact that her work consists
entirely of sharing in a moment, or series of moments, with a stranger. The
work, therefore, would not exist without the participation of the subject, even
when they are unaware of their role in the piece.
One of Calle’s earlier pieces, called "Sleepers," involved
inviting strangers (around 40, total) to spend the night in her bed. She ran a
newspaper ad inviting people to come – some of whom, like Patrick, who is
described in the book about the events, came having misinterpreted the ad (in
his case, thinking it was sexual) but nonetheless participated, in most cases for about eight hours. Calle would document them, photographically and through writing, almost as if she was journaling. This is arguably where Calle's work began to take on aspects of what critics would call "Surveillance."
Calle’s
next big project, called “Bronx,” took place in 1979 and involved her waiting
at a gallery in NYC, where she would ask visitors to take her to one of their
favorite places in the Bronx. Calle documented in a similar style to that of
Sleepers.
A
later project, “The Shadow” (1981), involved a role reversal: Calle had her
mother hire private detectives to shadow Calle and document her daily life.
Calle then exhibited the detectives’ documentation of herself as the final
product of the piece, in the same style as she would when she documented her
work herself.
Further
later work of Calle’s involved sharing personal stories, rather than making new
ones – both the 1988“Autobiographical Stories” and a 2005 exhibit involved
Calle telling her own stories, as well as those of others who wished to
participate.
Finally, the piece Calle is perhaps best
known for – “Suite Venitienne,” 1996 – involved Calle following a man around
Venice after meeting him at a party where he mentioned he would be travelling
there. Again, Calle documented her observations of the man in both writing and
photographs.
Watching people as they go about their
lives is the core element of Calle’s work, although it took different forms
over the course of her career. The art, then, is not only relational, or
related to people and how they interact, but is entirely based in people and
their habits – what makes them similar, what makes them different, but moreover,
the simple actions of a daily life.
