Calle, a French artist, is well know for her stalking tendencies so has been very interesting to research. The piece which I am most intrigued by is the one where she “followed not stalked” a man to Venice. It happened at a time where she was unsure with herself and what she as doing and so began to follow strangers in the street as they seemed to have purpose in their lives. It was remarked that Vito Accontie had already done this, but his was always with the purpose of art at the forefront. Nevertheless, she began to follow this one man and lost him. Later that evening, by chance, she was introduced to him and found out that he was traveling to Venice that next day. It was then she decided to follow him to Venice and watch his movements. She found out the hotel he was staying at and waited outside the door everyday and proceeded to follow him for the day. She took photographs of him and photographs of what he took photos of, their “mutual journey”. Everyday she used a Dictaphone to keep track of all movements. She presented these series of photos she gained as her final piece, all in black and white.
The fact that they are black and white, to me, makes them seem rather impersonal. They are a quick snapshot, means to and end – just a piece of documentation. But this was exactly what they were. She did not want to become too involved as she could already feel herself being drawn to him, “In the beginning they meant nothing, but further on he meant more, an obsession – wanted to know what he was eating reading…”. This is understandable as the more you become involved the more of an obsessions it becomes and the harder it is to walk away and leave.
Calle wanted to gain an understanding of what its like to be followed and to see how close the evidence gained is true to reality. She asked her mother to hire a private detective to follow Calle. This man did and collected evidence of her daily life. At the same time Calle kept a diary, so when this detective handed over all the information he had gained to her mother, Calle was able to compare the two sides of thought. She had a double life in paper. She was greatly intrigued to him calling her “subject” and detachment that was visible. It was not about feelings but just about doing a job and being in a space.
There is a big detachment in my work as I don’t know the persons name of who I am looking into, as he is fiction. However, I keep questioning myself to whether I should give him a name and what implications will come with this. I am not sure how personal I want it to become. Nevertheless, my audience may feel as though they could connect more with the victim if they knew them as a name rather than a “Subject” .
Contacts vol2 01 sophie calle 1of2. 2009. [YouTube user-generated content]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLC_pVhLYek. [accessed 16 October 2014].
SIMEONE, m. 2015. sophie calle: talking to strangers. [Blog] Alphabet. Available at: http://www.marcellosimeone.com/blog/sophie-calle-talking-to-strangers.html [Accessed 16 Oct. 2014].
The fact that they are black and white, to me, makes them seem rather impersonal. They are a quick snapshot, means to and end – just a piece of documentation. But this was exactly what they were. She did not want to become too involved as she could already feel herself being drawn to him, “In the beginning they meant nothing, but further on he meant more, an obsession – wanted to know what he was eating reading…”. This is understandable as the more you become involved the more of an obsessions it becomes and the harder it is to walk away and leave.
Calle wanted to gain an understanding of what its like to be followed and to see how close the evidence gained is true to reality. She asked her mother to hire a private detective to follow Calle. This man did and collected evidence of her daily life. At the same time Calle kept a diary, so when this detective handed over all the information he had gained to her mother, Calle was able to compare the two sides of thought. She had a double life in paper. She was greatly intrigued to him calling her “subject” and detachment that was visible. It was not about feelings but just about doing a job and being in a space.
There is a big detachment in my work as I don’t know the persons name of who I am looking into, as he is fiction. However, I keep questioning myself to whether I should give him a name and what implications will come with this. I am not sure how personal I want it to become. Nevertheless, my audience may feel as though they could connect more with the victim if they knew them as a name rather than a “Subject” .
Contacts vol2 01 sophie calle 1of2. 2009. [YouTube user-generated content]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLC_pVhLYek. [accessed 16 October 2014].
SIMEONE, m. 2015. sophie calle: talking to strangers. [Blog] Alphabet. Available at: http://www.marcellosimeone.com/blog/sophie-calle-talking-to-strangers.html [Accessed 16 Oct. 2014].