An Introduction to Sophie Calle's Life and Works

Sophie Calle Portrait

Sophie Calle is an artist who has always strived to be subversive. She was born a French citizen on October 9th, 1953 and has been stunning the world with her photography, installation art, and writing ever since. She has visited and shown her work in Russia, America, Belgium, Brazil, the Netherlands, and several other countries. Calle's most recent major work was Take Care of Yourself (2007), and was a way for her to deal with and overcome a break-up with her boyfriend. She has continued to re-design and publish older works since then and is widely considered one of the most important modern artists of our time.

Take Care of Yourself (April 9th-June 6th, 2009) by Sophie Calle, Paula Cooper Gallery, NY

Sophie Calle's art emphasizes what it means to be human and is unapologetically feminine, laying bare female anatomy (as in her 2001 piece, The Breasts) and documenting her own life and the lives of others. Her work also incorporates a voyeuristic aspect and is often seen as controversial as a result, as in one case where she followed a man she met in Venice and photographed him without his knowledge. Many of her pieces incorporate herself and her belongings as a subject, such as when she invited strangers to sleep in her bed (The Sleepers, 1979) and her documentation of a road trip taken with American photographer Gregory Shepard (No Sex Last Night, 1996). Address Book (1983) is perhaps her most notorious work, as it generated lots of controversy and eventually resulted in her being sued for invasion of privacy by the documentary filmmaker Pierre Baudry. In 2012 it was published in its entirety for the first time. 

The Address Book, by Sophie Calle. Published by Siglio, 2012

In conclusion, this blog will aim to explore Calle's works and the meaning behind them as well as how they reflect on the nature of the artist herself. This quote from Calle, recorded during a 2011 interview, is a great summation of her body of work:

"In my work I do such things that I would never do in my life. In normal life I am much more discreet. I am not intrusive, I do not investigate my friend's lives. But if it's a project then it's different." (source)