Sophie Calle

http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/artnow/sophiecalle/default.shtm

On the Trail of the Ego: Sophie Calle's Pursuits Petra Gorduren

http://hosting.zkm.de/ctrlspace/d/texts/10?print-friendly=true

Experiments with Collected Material 4

Experiments with Collected Material 3

Experiments with Collected Material 2

Experiments with Collected Material 1

My first exploration with my ancestors through dress. I wanted to use the original photographs to create a series of layers which would be partially exposed through the subsequent material I created to enhance the idea of an archive. I took the original photographs and photocopied them to create a range of traces - using changes in contrast and brightness to replicate a type of fading apparent in many of the images I had discovered so far.

Family Archive #2

Family Archive Photographs

Encountering the Archive

      
My Great Grandmother Annie Vint c1880, posing in a photographic studio in Manchester.
From a very young age this image was iconic to me. I viewed in on several occassions throughout my life with my Grandmother. On special occassions, I was also given the responsibility of viewing it alone. This was solely my only frame of reference for this woman and so this image has intrigued me ever since. From discussion with family members, it is also the one with the most memories and stories attached to it.

Kevin Egan - Importance of Play

Play is Crucial to a Creative Act - Thinking restricts our creative way of working.

Steve Pinker - Associations with Difference

Otherness - Allows us to have the ability to make associations (eg Semiotics)

Allen Kaprow just does, plays with material and is less concern with the idea of refinement

The metaphor is therefore derived from something other than itself

The reciprocal process is both LOGICAL and ILLOGICAL

Criticisms of play

Play is wasteful  and subordinate to both thinking and theory, work is favoured over play as it is ORDERED

Order is desired over chaos

Benefits of Play in Practice as Research:

It is a representation of the minds unconcious process

Play is not about having an end goal, it will present itself naturally

An Encounter with a Stranger - Documentation

An Encounter with a Stranger

The tour began, and we wended our way across the campus and into unfamiliar territory. A narrow concrete path made its way across a busy road. It felt peaceful and quiet as we turned onto a smaller path, branches encroached onto the trail before us. We walked steadily through and entered a realm of shiny metallics. The sun shone and reflected brightly off the newly buffed chrome. Abruptly halted, one by one we were thrown into our first encounter.

I was escorted into a densely wooded grove, ducking beneath stray branches and crunching fallen leaves under my feet. I sat; headphones thrust into my hands and forced to listen. The roar of the sounds echoed through my mind, accompanied by the visuals of swaying trees, heavily laden with berries. The music stopped and the sounds fell silent. Replaced by new subtler tones; rustling, tweeting birds. A crunch of twigs behind unnerved me, as time fell away.

The white painted chair gleamed brightly against the green grass which surrounded the lake. I was asked to sit. To my left two men idled away their time, waiting for a sign. One turned adding bait to a silver hook. I felt invisible as I looked over the water. Although they were present, no conversation was struck. As I stood to leave I noticed a sign – No Fishing.

Mixed sizes of stones lay on the concrete surface. The purple tones contrast against the wet ground. Other words became clearer now created from twigs, leaves and found objects. The tone was sentimental.” Happy you and happy me”.

“Take this cloth and I will photograph you”.  Without hesitation I was thrust into an autumnal glen. Mounds of leaves piled highly around me. The faint clicking sound was uncomfortable at first. I was being documented, every move, every step. I began to relax. The cloth became a tool, dragging behind me to create a new path. The atmosphere was broken, the call of “Next”.

The sound of distant drums grew louder as I approached. The sounds seemed to bounce off the trees, creating echoes along the tree line. The pattern steadily built up and then dispersed. Then it began the cycle again. This time the noise came more readily. I eagerly anticipated the beats.

 A Camera, and a slideshow. To my left a hooded figure slowly climbed the metal staircase. The figure paused as my attention was drawn back to the row of screens. Climbing higher, more franticly, the figure reached its destination. From its hand gently fell a pink slip of paper. The screens ceased. The document was examined. A passport photograph. Her blonde hair stood out from the pink background.

The line was crossed and the encounter began. Leaves became words directing me forward onto the path. Corners were turned, a wooden arrow spurring me on. A blue chair faced me. Underneath lay a silver key.  The clockwork motion began to turn. A chick hopped its way forward into a new encounter.

An Encounter with a Stranger - Responses