Sophie Calle is a French writer, photographer, installation artist. After completing her education she went travelling for 7 years. After her return she went to Paris in 1979 and started to produce a series of projects to familiarise herself again with the city and the people and with herself. Her work has emphasis on artistic idea rather than the finished object. Her work relates to herself and the everyday, what is happening around her. She manipulates situations in which the process is the work. Calle' s work only exists through documentation in the form of photographs and text. They are the only "proof" of the work.
Detective (1981)
This piece consists of Calle being followed by a private detective for a day, who had been hired by her mother (requested by Calle herself). Calle led the detective around parts of Paris that were important to her. With this work she reversed the expected position of the observed subject. This piece questions the role of the spectator, with viewers feeling uneasy as they become collaborators in violation of privacy. In a way this piece is evidence of her existence.
I really like this piece as the art for me is in the idea and the process, as it happens. The write-up after is the documentation of the day and what happened on that day tracking every single movement of the artist. Although there was only one audience (the detective) the documentation acts as evidence that this piece occurred and wider audience can enjoy the work by reading about it (detectives writ- ups) and looking at the photographs.
 |
| Detective (1980) |
The Hotel (1981)
In this project Sophie Calle was hired as a temporary chambermaid for three weeks in a Venetian hotel. She was assigned 12 bedrooms on the 4th floor. Throughout the course of her cleaning responsibilities, she examined personal belongings of the hotel guests and observed through details lives which were unknown to her. She read diaries, letters, postcards, went through suitcases and studied the room to find out more about the guests. Returning and observing again what has changed. Again her work was documented through writings and observations she had made as well as the photographs. She goes to such a length to do her pieces which is very inspiring to me. She only started working there just to accomplish her idea. She creates environments for herself to create these works and observations. Her art is engaging with the everyday life and observing it. In this project she was a detective.
 |
The Hotel, Room 44 (1981) |
 |
The Hotel, Room 29 (1981) |
I have been creating my own observations but not to such a scale as Calle. I observed my surroundings and the people on train from start to finish, capturing through writing what happens around me in that particular moment. However they are not that extensive as Calle's pieces and for me they are at the moment experimentations or idea triggers that can potentially develop into an artwork.
09:14 am
Train to Liverpool
Autumn
10th November 2016
On a train back to Liverpool
Leeds Platform 16A
People pushing, shuffling, moving…
I already took my seat: coach B Seat 28,
next to a window on the right hand side.
We have set off.
A woman sat next to me in her 20’s, hot drink in hand.
A very polite man in glasses (a conductor) just checked my ticket.
Now i can sit undisturbed.
It has been snowing at night but surprisingly it is not as cold today
It is chilly with a sunshine and blue sky.
We are passing green trees,
surprised they haven't turned yellow yet as it is autumn.
“This is Dewsbury, the next stop will be Huddersfield…”
We stopped.
The doors opened
A breeze of cold air brushed against my feet
The door closed, we are on the move again
I see graffiti on my right, on the back of the building
Red, blue, green, white…can’t make out the imagery
The woman next to me started watching a film on her laptop
I don't recognise it.
Around, people are chatting, discussing work or staring into distance
Sudden silence
Rustling of crisp packet
Sounds of heavy typing on keyboard
Conductor asks for passes from Dewsbury
I keep looking through the window
The scene disappearing in seconds as the train moves
I see trees
Green, red, yellow, orange, brown…
Its 09:28am
We are slowing down.
“We will shortly be arriving at Huddersfield..”
A man across from me is falling asleep.
The sun is blinding my eyes
Warm and peaceful
Through the window i see shop signs - Matalan, Wynsors, B & Q
We have stopped
People are leaving
A cold breeze against my feet
New people are coming and we set off
I had a sip of Ribena
I see men in a suit and tie walking past expressionless,
Boring office jobs i assume
Passed a small tunnel
I love tunnels
A line of small detached houses through my right window, identical
Another tunnel
Should i count how many tunnels we will pass?
Beautiful trees and greenery, reminds me of Latvia
I am going there in December but there trees will be bare by then
A snowy white winter
A woman's phone began to ring, surprising both of us.
Ringtone: Take That - Rule the World
From the conversation i understood she wasn't feeling well and cancelled her plans
Trees, trees, and more trees
Its 09:42am
A train has passed moving in the other direction, fast
3rd tunnel
I see reflection on the window of what is inside of the train
A double image
Layers
Laughter, chatter, silence…
We are moving in a straight line at a constant speed
Time is passing fast
4th tunnel (very long one, 5 minutes in the dark)
Two guy on far left in suits talking about the gym and protein beer
Protein beer? Is that even a thing?
Trees, trees, trees…
Sheeps on a slope
I am tired of sitting
I have figured out what the woman next to me is watching
It is Downton Abbey series
I have watched it before with my mum but forgot to keep up
A small lonely tree in a small green field
5th tunnel
“We will shortly be arriving at Stanley Bridge…”
We have stopped
New people came in
We are on the move again
My feet are freezing
6th tunnel
I am sleepy, my eyes feel heavy
Graffiti in the distance, a bright blob
It's 10:15am
An hour has passed
“We will shortly be arriving at Manchester Piccadilly…”
The woman sitting next to me has left
I see a lot of people crammed together, standing on the platform waiting for their train
New people entering my train
The whistle blowing and we are on the move
I sit alone
Tall beautiful buildings of Manchester city surrounding us
According to the voice person we are late by 13 minutes
A set of small tunnels on my right under a big bridge. Beautiful
1, 2, 3, 4, 5….
Graffiti
We are moving really fast, left and right
Trees
A guy in front of me is called Ben,
i know that because he has introduced himself so on his phone
There is a seat between us, i can see him through reflection in the window.
He is wearing a yellow/purple/green sports coat vintage style and a brown hat
Ben has mid brown hair and an overgrown stubble
Bright sun from window from far left shining onto the page i am writing on
Flashing when something is in the way
Flash, Flash, Flash…
And then it is constant again
It's 10:37am
I just sneezed quietly fourth time today
The faster we go the flashier it gets
Plays with my vision
7th tunnel
Sipping on Ribena
“We will shortly be arriving at Birchwood…”
Arrived
People getting off
Moving again
Still sitting by myself
The train is quite empty
8th mini tunnel
Roads, houses, trees, cars, busses…
The conductor asking for tickets
Ben is asleep
A man next to him is reading the newspaper with a sad expression
Flash flash flash
It's 10:54am
Sudden laughter somewhere from the back of the train
9th tunnel
10th tunnel
“We will shortly be arriving at Liverpool South Parkway…”
We are moving really slow, i keep looking through the window
My legs are stiff i want to get out
We have stopped
It's cold
People are getting off
Ben is still asleep
13th tunnel (long)
It’s 11:11 make a wish
“We will shortly be arriving to Liverpool Lime Street where this train will terminate”
Everybody leaves
...
What i like about this observation is that it is done on the move and i take in my surrounding and what happens around me as i go. Observing both the inside and the outside of the train. After a while patterns started to occur in what was happening e.g counting tunnels, the stops... Counting the tunnels became a game and listening and observing people became interesting as they showed their personalities e.g the ringtone or Ben. Also although i observed what was happening around me at the time and writing about them, my own personality showed through in the way i wrote things and what i naturally focused on. Different people would have observed the same situation differently.
I wrote for two hours straight and after a while it became automatic and natural. I was in tune with my surroundings and was able to notice and find beauty in the smallest of things. It was a very enjoyable process.
Not sure where this will lead me but i will continue to make these observations.
~ Ev
