ART CITIES:San Francisco-Sophie Calle – dreamideamachine ART VIEW

Over the course of a 40-year career, French conceptual artist Sophie has produced a unique, multifaceted body of work that deftly merges photography, text, film, book, and performance, and has earned her international acclaim. Calle’s narrative approach blurs the borders between the intimate and the public, fact and fiction, art and life.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture Arhive

Conceived as a journey, the exhibition “Missing” gathers five of Sophie Calle’s major projects, into a site-responsive presentation across the historic and scenic Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (FMCAC) campus on the San Francisco waterfront. The corpus offers an overview of Calle’s art since the 1980s, and includes her iconic projects spanning the last decade: “Take Care of Yourself”, “Rachel Monique” and “Voir la mer”. Unveiling through a narrative of intimate stories, both personal and collective, “Missing” emphasizes the analogy of mother and sea (“mère” and “mer” in French), while proposing a reflection on the universal concepts of disappearance, loss and absence, central in the artist’s work and exploration. “Rachel Monique” (2007), is Installed in the former U.S. Army Chapel, the poignant and poetic multimedia installation features the personality and final moments of Sophie Calle’s mother. “Take Care of Yourself” (2007) is located in Gallery 308, the work documents 107 women interpreting a break-up letter Calle received from an ex-lover. This body of work was originally created for the French Pavilion of the 2007 Venice Biennale. In the Firehouse, which offers a stunning view of the San Francisco Bay, viewers will experience the film installation “Voir la mer” (2011) featuring residents of Istanbul, Turkey, seeing the ocean for the first time. Also displayed in the Firehouse, “The Last Image” (2010) is a series of photographs and texts that portrays the last visual memory of blind people. Sophie Calle’s work and character continue to fascinate, amaze, disturb and inspire. Especially today, as we are experiencing a global crisis and rapid changes, when we are in search for meaning and directions allowing to re-examine our relationship to the world, to the others, to ourselves.

Info: Curator: Ars Citizen, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, 2 Marina Boulevard (at Buchanan Street), Landmark Building C, San Francisco, Duration 29/6-20/8/17, Days & Hours: Wed-Sat 12:00-20:00, Sun 11:00-17:00, https://fortmason.org