Sophie Calle is the guest of Cultural Affairs

With her sunglasses, you think you recognize the discretion of a private detective. It must be said that it was by unexpectedly tracking down passers-by in Paris that Sophie Calle made her debut in contemporary art in 1979. Camera in hand, it is with a touch of idleness that she stores up the pictures of unknown, with the already ardent desire to seize the random. Very quickly, it is chance itself that interferes in the depths of his intimacy. Between April 1 and 9, 1979, twenty-eight people agree to follow one another in his bed and have their photograph taken there. Luckily, the husband of one of the “sleepers”, Bernard Lamarche-Vadel, is also an art critic and curator of the Biennale des jeunes at the Museum of Modern Art in the city of Paris. Sophie Calle’s career is launched. Dozens of projects followed, each more striking than the next, whether No Sex Last Night (1992), documentary film in the style of a road movie on a faulty relationship, “Rachel, Monique”, exhibition dedicated to the death of her mother or more recently the album Calle Mouse (2018), compilation in homage to her cat Souris bringing together around forty artists (Bono, Juliette Armanet, Pharell Williams…). We can see Sophie Calle’s exhibition “A toi de faire ma mignon” at the Picasso Museum from October 3 to December 7, a unique opportunity to pay tribute to the Spanish artist. Sophie Calle also publishes two books: an enriched reissue of True stories at Actes Sud on September 6 and Black in White at Gallimard on September 15. Several reasons to return, the time of a great interview, on his journey as a conceptual artist, photographer, videographer and detective.

More information on his news:

• Exposure “It’s up to you, my darling” from October 3 to December 7 at the Picasso Museum.
• Black in White to be published on September 15 by Gallimard editions
• Reissue of True stories enriched with three unpublished stories, published by South Acts

Sounds played during the show

• Archive of Jean Baudrillard in Le Bon Plaisir on France Culture, June 29, 1996
• Sophie Calle reads an excerpt from Leviathan by Paul Auster in Le Bon Plaisir on France Culture, December 23, 1995.
• Excerpt from the film by Sophie Calle, No Sex Last Night (1995)
• “Souris est le nom”, song by Pierre Comelade published in the album Calle Mouse (2018)
• The musical choice of the guest: “The Big move of Sophie” by Florent Marchet
• Hans Haacke on the occasion of his book Free exchange co-written with Pierre Bourdieu in the program La radio dans les yeux by France Culture, January 17, 1994

Sound of the day: “Loading” by James Blake

We had the opportunity to hear the crystalline voice of James Blake in two bestsellers published this year, first in the soundtrack of the animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and then in Travis Scott’s latest megalomaniac machine Utopia. But it is far from the big productions that we prefer James Blake. His sixth album “Playing Robots Into Heaven”, announced without featuring, will be released tomorrow. An opportunity to hear the best student of his generation return to the sources of his electronic music: organic writing, R&B vocal sequences and composite rhythms. James Blake will be in concert at the Olympia on September 20 and 22. We invite you to listen to the single “Loading”: