Artist research

 Sophie Calle   

I was first introduced to the work of Sophie Calle last year, my tutor had mentioned a few of her works, then leant me a book by her showcasing quite a few different projects. During this stage my own practice was evolving and changing, seeing her works at this time in my practice has definitely had an influence on both my way of working and work produced now. 

As my publication was delayed I had to find a solution to overcome that for the deadline. As I had a digital copy of the magazine my tutor suggested I print and frame the pages, again showed me an example of a similar piece by Calle, “Exquisite pain”. On a visual level this piece was a great example to help me visualise the printed text, the frames matching ones I had already brought, a similar type face, it showed me visually that it looks effective. When I’ve research into the work further to write up this blog post I see how my work overlaps with this on a process level. As seen in the example photo below, on the left you have a story by Calle, a break up letter, on the right, a sad story from a stranger, she collected many sad stories from strangers. I hadn’t come across this work earlier in the project but I think the Parallels are visible, I think perhaps seeing her practice in general has veered mine into a similar way of approaching things.    

Exquisite pain. (1984). Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artwork-changed-life-sophie-calles-exquisite-pain