Sophie Calle: Double Game

by Sophie Calle, Paul Auster

This is the first major publication in English on the work of French artist Sophie Calle, yet this volume is in no way an ordinary monograph. In fact, it takes the form of a "double jeu", a "double game," between the work of Sophie Calle and the fiction of Paul Auster. Representing an imaginative interplay of fact and fiction, "Double Game" creates a publication of endless intrigue and part novel, part diary, part artist's book, and part jest.

Genres: Art, Photography, Nonfiction, Art Design

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Sophie Calle is a French writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist. Calle's work is distinguished by its use of arbitrary sets of constraints, and evokes the French literary movement of the 1960s known as Oulipo. Her work frequently depicts human vulnerability, and examines identity and intimacy. She is recognized for her detective-like ability to follow strangers and investigate their private lives. Her photographic work often includes panels of text of her own writing.

Reviews

[Kat McKay · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I can appreciate the concept of Sophie Calle's art, I found the book representing it to be... tedious. Her written accounts of her daily activities are dry and impersonal except for when she's following Henri B. At that point she does include her feelings or imagined feelings of Henri, which border on psychosis, not something that appeals to me as "artistic". The detective's writings about her movements were more appealing and much less mind numbing. I would much rather see her photographs or photos of her installations (birthday presents) in a large format, w/a few eloquently written lines depicting her thoughts/feelings. Especially the photos of the hotel rooms & contents. That would have been better done w/the view drawing conclusions of the occupants, not Sophie.

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 2 out of 5]

ف تكرار برضوا ل الصور ف كتاب the hotel اللي صورته ع قناة عن الفن ع اليوتيوب
@3nelfn
كنت بتفرج ع الصور بس لان الخط صغير وأنا بقرأه اونلاين

[Kaleidograph · Rating 5 out of 5]

What this book is for me:

- the prequel to Enrique Vila-Matas' Because She Never Asked (before reading that I had never heard of Sophie Calle and scarcely knew anything about Paul Auster other than that he is a writer of books; after reading it I went out and bought Double Game)

- a female stalker's, gift hoarder's and phone booth vandalist's inventory list

- an engaged and meticulous record of living from an outsider's perspective

- a performance artist's portfolio

- a living retaliation to fictionalization

- an experiment in laying bare the small, emotionless and unimaginative facts of human existence, to show how infused they are with narrative and emotion

- an aimless and needless love letter to self and the stuff that clings to people (behaviour, possessions, affections and affectations)

- a beautifully made book

- chronicles of a person idly trying to find out what would happen by taking seriously and following the smallest wayward wonderings, usually carelessly discarded at the side of the road by other people who aren't Sophie Calle


What I think about it:

- Would this be just as meaningful and interesting, if I learned that it was all fiction, the dialogues invented, the photos posed in a studio, the interactions fabrications of the author's imagination?

- I did like the cold, factualness of the accounts: it made me realize that emotions seep into everything as long as there is at least a believable pretense that it is a thread, a shred, a morsel of a real person's actual life.

- Can artists truly live and love, and/or is it all bound to be art anyway?

- It's true what other reviewers have said about her being able to get away (in the eyes of the reader) with what, if it weren't art, could only be considered stalking, because she is a woman. I don't know exactly why or what that entails, but it feels true to me. (I wonder, would feminism want me to be appalled at the invasion of privacy despite her gender or be open to art at the detriment of someone's privacy regardless of the gender of the perpetrator? I know it shouldn't really make a difference, but I can't help but think there must be an ideological bias hidden somewhere nevertheless.)

- I can't help but wonder who is right about the cigarettes and whether handing them out is a good thing or bad. It really seems like it is both.

- Art that is meaningful and touches actual lives, even if it is in the most well-intentioned way, seems to always create outrage at the disorder, disruption and presumption of the artist as well as gratitude from passers-by. That makes me sad and angry at the world.

- Whose are these "stories" (or are they just facts anyway?)? Do they belong to Sophie Calle (who at any rate merely implies them by recounting the glimpses she has gathered) or have they merely(?) been snatched, pilfered and stolen from the people, the real world?

- The book comes tied in a red bow and with a ridiculously irreverent cover picture inspired by the letter b (blonde bimbo in bed with beasts) seemingly at odds with the fancily embossed silver writing on the back cover. It felt like a simple gift that I appreciated.

[Vic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was immediately drawn to Maria Turner when I read Leviathan by Auster. I was drawn to the way she sought out aesthetic experiences in every day life for its own sake, whereby the product is secondary to the experience, the concept. Maria Turner captivated me, and I frequently found myself thinking about her. To discover that she was inspired by a real person excited me immensely, and as I looked up details about Sophie Calle I was absolutely stunned and electrified to discover Double Game. That Maria Turner was a real person was already incredibly happy-making, but that she responded in such a characteristic and rich way to Auster's representation of her was pure delight to discover. The book contains an excerpt of Auster's Leviathan in which Maria Turner is described, which is useful to those who have not read it. Interestingly Calle has annotated it with red ink, correcting the misrepresentations or exaggerations.

As a stand-alone work, the art projects presented would appeal tremendously to those interested in conceptual art and those interested in voyeurism. At many times I found that it was the ideas behind the art and her descriptions that were arousing and intriguing me more than the actual products (ie photographs). This is a work about a person who believes in an artistic life more than creating artistic products. As Auster described so aptly, "there would be concrete results that could be shown in galleries, but this activity didn't stem from a desire to make art so much as from a need to indulge her obsessions, to live her life precisely as she wanted to live it."

Personally, my favourite part is The Hotel probably because I'm too much of a voyeur for my own good.

[Emily Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This woman's great. She does weird stuff that only women can get away with and calls it Art. You try stealing a man's address book and following him around Paris while taking pictures of his every move. Ever had a random dude write you to say he needs to sleep in your bed in order to get over his ex-girlfriend? How about shipping him your bed across the world on loan, like our friend Sophie did? My personal fav is a die set in a ring box to replace a man who used to make decisions for her. A constant inspiration for unauthorized behavior.

[ninon · Rating 2 out of 5]

ah d accord c est bien

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book consists of 13 chapters and five of them are devoted to voyeurism. It is bad enough that Sophie went through other people's possessions, let alone made an art exhibit out of their lives.

[Muneeb Hameed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating! This book is broken into three parts. I got it solely for the third part called The Gotham Handbook. The Gotham Handbook is a true account in which Paul Auster writes instructions for Sophie to follow for a week in New York, subtitled Personal Instructions for S.C. on How to Improve Life in New York City. These instructions include the following:

Smiling

"Smile when the situation doesn't call for it. Smile when you're feeling angry, when you're feeling miserable, when you're feeling most crushed by the world--and see if it makes any difference. ... Smile at strangers in the street. Smile at the bank teller who gives you your money, at the waitress who gives you your food, at the person sitting across from you on the train. ... See if anyone smiles back at you. Keep track of the number of smiles you are given each day. Don't be disappointed when people don't smile back at you. Consider each smile you receive a precious gift."

Talking to Strangers

"There will be people who talk to you after you smile at them .. Some of these people will talk to you because they feel confused or threatened or insulted by your show of friendliness. ("You got a problem, lady?") Plunge in immediately with a disarming comment. "No, I was just admiring your beautiful tie." Or: "I love your dress." ... With so many things driving us apart, with so much hatred and discord in the air, it is good to remember the things that bring us together. The more we insist on them in our dealings with strangers, the better morale in the city will be."

Feeding Beggars and Homeless People

"I'm not asking you to reinvent the world. I just want you to pay attention to it, to think about the things around you more than you think about yourself. ... Stock up on bread and cheese. Every time you leave the house, make three or four sandwiches and put them in your pocked. Every time you see a hungry person, give him a sandwich. ... If you can't think of anything to say when you give the food to the hungry person, talk about the weather."

Cultivating a Spot

"People are not the only ones neglected in New York. Things are neglected as well. I don't just mean big things like bridges and subway tracks ... look closely at the things around you and you'll see that nearly everything is falling apart. Pick one spot in the city and begin to think of it as yours. It doesn't matter where, and it doesn't matter what. ... Keep it clean. Beautify it. Think of it as an extension of who you are, as a part of your identity. Go to your spot every day at the same time. Spend an hour watching everything that happens to it, keep track of everyone who passes by or stops or does anything there. Take notes, take photographs. Smile at the people who come there. Whenever possible, talk to them. If you can't think of anything to say, begin by talking about the weather."

Sophie goes on to do these things and meticulously records her every observation to the detail of exact time, number of smiles given and received, number of sandwiches given and received, duration of conversation, and more.

Small disclaimer: you may not find anything profoundly inspiring in her observations for her focus was to capture exactly what she saw as she saw it. Nonetheless, it's a truly intriguing piece. It felt like people watching on paper.

[Pablo María Fernández · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise sounded promising: Paul Auster created a fictional character in Leviathan inspired by Calle, Maria Turner. In return she asked him to create a fictional character so she could copy her, creating a double game. He doesn’t accept but provides a set or rules to live in New York, the Gotham Handbook. It also serves as an excellent excuse to show her most relevant work: Suite vénitienne, The detective, The hotel, The Address Book, The Birthday Ceremony and The Striptease.

This is the third book that I read from this French artist and the one I enjoyed the least. In more than 300 pages there are plenty of photographs of her rituals, as she calls her artist experiments. Many of them become annoying or repetitive after a while. Auster’s rules are silly and the interaction between them seems forced (I even guess he regretted taking borrowed from her life for his novel). She is a very good marketer and saw the opportunity to capitalice Auster’s notoriety in her favor, showing the world her art.

I still don’t know if her experiences are real or fictional. Some are dull but others are so rich that I doubt they belong to reality and not to her mind. The address book, in which she tracks down the owner of a lost address book talking with his contacts looked good but she said she couldn’t include it in this publication. The reason: he was so angry he even sent Calle a photograph showing her naked, to give her a taste of her own medicine. Other rituals of hers are also controversial: following someone for days, checking a hotel room without authorization, intervening in a telephone booth. Many comments on social media point that but —as every piece of art— we have to take into consideration the time in which they were created (in this case most are from the pre-Internet and privacy awareness era).

In summary, if you are interested in Sophia Calle’s art I recommend Take care of yourself that it is by far her most interesting experiment (at least of the ones I know).

[Ishq · Rating 3 out of 5]

the cross between fiction and reality and the interest in the most mundane details of personal lives is inspiring

but i can't help thinking if this is "art", this art is somewhat voyeuristic and narcissistic, and it's material basis is exclusionary. Only rich kids can afford to practice art like this. if this is the kind of art that is discussed AND deem great in art schools, i wonder what art students would feel ok and entitled to do nowadays.

and i don't think non-white and/or male artists can do the same art sophie calle did as documented in this book without getting into serious troubles. she stalked someone rather frantically, and she went through many others' belonging by taking the job of a hotel maid. yes she risked troubles but she can get away with it and make a book/fame of it, but not many could.

and the way she talked about street people in new york has a condescending note about it. i find it disturbing.

[Angélica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encontrar cualquier cosa de Sophie Calle es un tesoro y este pequeño libro, parte de otros siete, me ha gustado.
Paul Auster, en su libro leviatán, incluye un personaje, María que está basado en Sophie Calle. Sophie encantada por esto, le pide a Auster que le cree un personaje que ella pueda emular por un año. Auster no sintiéndose cómodo con ello, solo le crea una lista de instrucciones que Sophie pueda seguir. Este libro es parte de esto, son dos trabajos que supuestamente hizo María y ahora Sophie lleva a cabo en la realidad. Muy Sophie, fascinante.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible object, brimming with insightful documentation from artist Calle's project with Paul Auster, where she based a series of artworks on a character from one of his books, Leviathan, a character who he in turn had based on the real-life Sophie Calle. Some great performance and photography projects, laid out with Calle's class and charm. Beautifully designed with great documentation throughout, and some interesting artist's insights on the thought processes behind the works.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of Calle and her games. Reprints works like Suite Vénitienne and part of the Address Book. Reiterative self-mythologizing, conceptual art as a game, voyeurism both titillating and banal. Always a sense of disbelief - did so many hotel guests really leave diaries in their rooms? People are so boring and interesting.

[Anna Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Increíble. El libro te hace entender muy bien las obras de Sophie Calle y su mundo interior. El diseño y la maquetación es espectacular. Si no te gusta el arte conceptual no te lo recomiendo, aún así se trata de un libro bastante visual, interesante y divertido.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great ideas but had to start skimming after two-thirds.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been devouring everything Paul Auster for the past year or so; Just finished Leviathan, which brought me to investigate Sophie Calle, the French artist who the character Maria is based off of. I had never heard of her, although I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some of her work at The Art Institute of Chicago a few months ago. This collaboration with Auster is pretty fantastic. I love it. I picked up her True Stories which I’m looking forward to.

[Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across Sophie Calle completely unexpectedly when Shea'la drove us to Mass Moca to see her exhibit there. Now despite the fact that there were all sorts of big old Joseph Beuys and Mona Hatoum pieces up, and all sorts of other things I was (and I guess, for that matter, still am) wild about, I pretty much spent the entire afternoon looking at these photographs. I don't think I had spent that much time with a work at a museum/gallery since the big Robert Gober solo show at the LA MOCA with the waterfall staircase.

Leslie and I also had the pleasure of finally seeing Double Blind, the video Calle made in the early 90s where she drives cross country with this guy she is trying to get to marry her, chronicling the lack of sex they are having and all their differences. Amazing.

[Zineb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The work of this artist took my attention because a friend of mine told me about it and since then it fascinates me. The sensitivity of her work and this double game with fact and fiction. Also I like how she makes something special while at first and second sight it isn't.
Plus, the book is a beauty!

[Raylene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie Calle influenced Paul Auster to create a character based on her bizarre brand of art/life performance (following/dressing strangers, . She then takes her Auster embellished character "Maria" to task- repeating her actions (like eating monochromatic meals) and sharing the documentation from the original and the fictional turned real in a scintillating format.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gift from my 2012 Birthday Club that I just got around to reading now. It's a beautiful edition of an interesting art project. I have mistakenly kept it shelved originally in fiction-- will have to find space for it on my non-fiction shelves! It's more of a well-documented art project inspired by fiction that was inspired by non-fiction than anything else.

[Mindy Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

What was once a larger, $365-dollar art book is now a much smaller, diary-sized hardcover. Sophie Calle responds to Paul Auster's character Maria, a version of herself he created in his novel Leviathan.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my initial introduction to Sophie Calle. People who are into reading about other wacky people will get a kick out of this. The photos in this book give it a boost to stay on the coffee table and not to shelve it away.

[Bickety Bam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the documentation of several pieces of performance art. I will never leave anything unlocked in a hotel room ever again. I have an urge to follow strangers through Venice. I am wary of people who smile at me now. Overall, I's say the book is a success.

[Hope Wabuke]

!

[Jeff McCall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really blurred the lines between literature, art, photography and espionage. It was expertly laid out and original.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a dream pairing. i get both calle and auster in one place. perfect.

[Julie Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a wonderful concept for a book.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic result when an artist calls out another artist

[Nicole Mournian · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was my manual for a few years. following people. levaing gifts in phone booths. she is a genius.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adopt a phone booth, why don't you?