Sophie Calle

I decided to look at the artist and photographer Sophie Calle in relation to my own work.

I was aware that her life and working practice run alongside almost seamlessly and that her work became her life in some instances. I was also aware that she used "stalking" as a way of creating a body of work.

I wanted to look at some specific bodies of Calle's work to perhaps influence and inspire me. I then came across the body of work entitled "the address book".

As part of this work, Calle by chance found an address book dropped by a

man in the street. She then photocopied it's contents and returned it to the owner of the book.

She then wanted to "get to know the man without knowing him" by calling and meeting up with people that were in the address book.

I found this fascinating. I was so intrigued by it in fact that I had to purchase the publication of it and recently read it cover to cover.

Her sheer dedication to the project allowed me to understand that it is possible for your working practice and work to become one and that it can be an all consuming thing- if you choose something that really interests you.

The book describes all of her meetings with the people from the address book and documents the conversations through photography. On further investigation, the owner of the book, "Pierre D" discovered what she was doing and threatened her with legal action. In retaliation, he unearthed a topless photograph of Calle and published it in a french newspaper.

But I would definitely recommend the book to any art practitioner.