Sophie Calle
Door kunstvlo op September 07, 2009 11:29. 13 comments
What makes you an artist? Splendid ideas? Genius? Sure, but most of all you need guts and faith. This thought repeatedly crossed my mind the last few days. The immediate cause for my musing was the Sophie Calle exposition that I saw in Brussels, Bozar last week.
Sophie Calle (°1953) is a French artist, who uses a diversity of media in her work that is largely autobiographical. As a writer and a photographer she tries to capture sceneries from everyday life. Her work doesn’t merely consist of observations and interpretations. She manipulates and creates new realities of her own.
Like for example when she decides to be a private investigator and starts following someone in the street (ad random), writes down what he does and documents his moves with photographs. Or when she takes a job as a chambermaid and goes through the personal affairs of hotel guests, takes photos and tries to imagine what kind of people they are.
Calle’s ideas are not that world-shaking. On the contrary, to me (and you?) they even sound familiar: I guess once in a while we all wonder about how other people live their lives, how they succeed and fail.
The difference between Calle and a lot of us is that she takes her thinking one step further. When our rational minds tell us to ‘get real’, her artist mind tells her to begin her journey.
Joseph Beuys has said we’re all artists but we are not. You can only be one when you are capable of letting the mainstream interpretation of rational reality go. Can you do that? Are you willing to do this? Are you willing to make this kind of sacrifice? Probably not.
A real artist will and that’s why we should admire and cherish her or him. Sophie Calle has done it in an exceptional and fascinating way. Hurry up: go to Brussels this week and visit a wonderful exposition in Bozar. Until the 13th of September.