VISITES — MAI 2009Chère Sophie — New York
Cheong Kwon, 31 avril 2009Chère Sophie,
Je voulais juste dire que je trouve l’exhibition fantastique. L’acte de la pièce est bien féministe ! Ma pièce préféré est celle de la psycologue qui disait qu’on ne besoin pas les antideépressuers et puis le mot triste partout ! Ca ma donnait une grande sourire ! Je vais faire un petit article sur votre expo pour un site art contemporaine Suisse qui s’appelle «daté» si vous voulais le regarder (pour Mai).
Meilleurs Salutations, Cheong
This is the letter which I was inspired to write, exclamations, errors and all, to Sophie Calle after briefly meeting her when she asked for a cigarette during her vernissage for Prenez soin de vous at Paula Cooper Gallery.
Because I was not familiar with her work, I did not recognize her, but soon was able to deduce (from her surrounding fans) that she was indeed the artist responsible for the piece which people are familiar with from the 2007 French Pavillion at the Venice Biennale. Since Prenez soin de vous has already been frequented by critics, I would like to revisit it without going into versed descriptions of the piece, but to emphasize the stature of Sophie Calle as one of our foremost conceptual artists.
Upon looking into some of her past projects, I found myself in a precarious position for writing this review, such that Sophie Calle once based a project on correcting the errors of critics who review her work. This excites me and inspires me. I write this piece, in all frankness, with the hope that she will happen to visit our site and read this article. Clearly, she is an artist as critic and critic as artist.
I viewed the exhibition twice, once for the vernissage for the public, and then the next day for a private question and answer with the MoMA Junior Associates. During the first visit, I attempted to look at all the photographs and read the interpretations by varied female professionals, primarily written in French. For some reason, I was unable to approach the flat screen wall of videos, although most people were congregated around it, due to, I presumed, their inablility to understand French. I felt privilaged to be able to deciper at least some of the text. But that privilage was easily taken away when I went home to read the letter, which was in English. I would like to know why it was chosen to have the letter translated into English without presenting the original. Was it so during the Biennale ? Why not present the letter in both English and French ? To not present the original protects a certain privacy between the artist and the writer.
I read the letter twice. The first time, I felt disapointed by specifics within the translation. The second time, I felt touched by it as an artist and a woman who is only beginning to understand that men have emotional depth. It also made me afraid and made me decide that I too should instigate a rule that if a man or woman wants to break up with me, he or she should do it in person. It is a letter that makes me want to be one of the women who decipers the letter, as one artist to another.
Visually, I found the photographs extraordinary, when installed as they were, filling most of the blank wall space, and hung as a traditional picture gallery. It was not so much that each individual photograph was stunning, rather more that the combined effect was one in which the white page, the letter, of which the viewer only sees the blank underside, stands out as deeply meditative and conceptually genius, in its’ reference to the blank canvas with which we all struggle.
My second visit to the exhibition proved to be more social, as I was interested in how Calle would present her work to a young group of collectors and enthusiasts. She chose not to speak about the piece except to answer questions. When I asked Calle what emotional resonance the letter held for her now, she said: «it is like a page of the phonebook which I have memorized».
Sophie Calle’s work is often inspired by one thing leading to the next, and her life is lived as her art. As an artist, she resists the unintelligent configuration of being manipulated by others. In a sense, she is a true power player. For this, I am both inspired, greatful, and relieved.
* Photo : SOPHIE CALLE at Paula Cooper, Cheong Kwon, mai 09
DATÉ est une association à but non-lucratif basée à Genève, en Suisse.
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