I received an email telling me it was over.
I didn't know how to respond.
It was almost as if it hadn't been meant for me.
It ended with the words, "Take care of yourself."
And so I did.
I asked 107 women (including two made from wood and one with feathers),
chosen for their profession or skills, to interpret this letter.
To analyze it, comment on it, dance it, sing it.
Dissect it. Exhaust it. Understand it for me.
Answer for me.
It was a way of taking the time to break up.
A way of taking care of myself.
In 2007, Sophie Calle did what all of us have always wanted to do but didn't have the talent or social clout to pull-off. She asked all the women she knew--or at least 107 of them--to interpret why he was just not that into her. Sure we run over the details of break-ups with our close friends, but we quickly become conscious of the fact that even our best friends grow sick of hearing about it. But when Sophie Calle was broken-up with, she wanted answers. And not from him, but from them: other women. She displayed the replies--a mixture including installations, poems, an operetta, and a copy-edited version of the email--on the French Pavilion of the 2007 Venice Biennale. We missed her show in NYC this past summer, but maybe if we're really lucky we can catch it in Brazil.
See more information on her show at the Paula Cooper Gallery in NYC
here.
1 comment:
i totally went to this show last year! it was the most crowded gallery exhibit i ever went to in chelsea. the whole exhibit took me about 4 hours to view in completion, and i was amazed and in love. what was incredible was the amount of expertise in the women in all their various professions. it was less an exercise by sophie calle's friends, but by the most wide variety of incredible artisans - editors, translators, archivists, historians, actors, dancers (traditional indian, modern, interpretive, traditional ballet, etc), linguists - all these various perceptions of the letter based on various expertises. it was utterly fascinating. love love it.
Post a Comment