Sophie Calle
The Hotel Room 47
On Monday, February 16, 1981, I was hired as a temporary chambermaid for three weeks in a Venetian hotel. I was assigned twelve bedrooms on the fourth floor. In the course of my cleaning duties, I examined the personal belongings of the hotel guests and observed through details lives which remained unknown to me. On Friday, March 6, the job came to an end. (Quoted in Calle, pp.140-1.)
Each of the twelve rooms gave rise to a diptych of similar structure following the occupancy of one or more guests during the period of the artist’s employment at the hotel. Some rooms feature more than once as a second set of guests occupied them, giving rise to a total of twenty-one diptychs in the series. Calle’s descriptions of the hotel rooms and their contents combine factual documentation along with her personal response to the people whose lives she glimpsed by examining their belongings. Each text begins with the chambermaid/artist’s first entry into the room and a notation of which bed or beds have been slept in, with a description of the nightwear the guests have left. A list of objects usually follows, as the artist transcribes her activities in the room. Calle is unashamedly voyeuristic, reading diaries, letters, postcards and notes written or kept by the unknown guests, rummaging in suitcases, and looking into wardrobes and drawers. She sprays herself with their perfume and cologne, makes herself up using the contents of a vanity case, eats food left behind and salvages a pair of women’s shoes left in the bin. Outside the room, she listens at doors, recording the occupants’ conversations or any other sounds she may overhear, and even peers into a room when the floor-waiter opens the door to catch a glimpse of the unknown guests. - Tate
Reflection
By taking a job as a chambermaid Sophie Calle is stepping away from her usual line of work in order to experience a way of life that I unfamiliar to her. This opened up new possibilities for her to see the objects that go to make up a individuals identity. Like a fly on the wall Calle sees into peoples suitcases, draws and cupboards and covers herself with their essence. This is in a way, similar to the prints I have been making of peoples clothing as it captures a part of the individual and copies it onto a new surface. The way Calle has displayed her work is similar to a research report, point and evidence. The photographs have archival quality to them and build a sense of sincerity to the work.
Sources
No comments:
Post a Comment