Sophie Calle is a 67 year old French artist, who specialises in photography, writing, conceptual and installation art work. Her work is often a depiction of the vulnerability we experience as humans and explores ideas of intimacy and identity throughout. Her photographic work often has pieces of text from her own writings alongside it.
I was drawn to the work in which aligns itself with text, as part of my research for my own project which will include text. The project titled ‘The Hotel’ was an exploration of various hotel rooms which the artist encountered whilst working as a chambermaid. Becoming somewhat of a detective, Calle began documenting each of the twelve rooms she was assigned to. She documented their belongings and the state of the rooms as she entered, making a judgement on the types of people who were absent from their rooms.
“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”
The aesthetic of the work is particularly special, neat and orderly. With two frames split into text and imagery of the individual rooms. The placement well thought out and documented in excruciating detail. The artist lived and breathed the work, the presentation is no exception.
The Hotel, Room 28 1981 Sophie Calle born 1953 Presented by the Patrons of New Art through the Tate Gallery Foundation 1999 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P78301 
The Hotel, Room 44 1981 Sophie Calle born 1953 Presented by the Patrons of New Art through the Tate Gallery Foundation 1999 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P78303 
The Hotel, Room 29 1981 Sophie Calle born 1953 Presented by the Patrons of New Art through the Tate Gallery Foundation 1999 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P78302 
The Hotel, Room 47 1981 Sophie Calle born 1953 Presented by the Patrons of New Art through the Tate Gallery Foundation 1999 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/P78300
Here, this video allows Calle to discuss her introduction into the art world and how she became inspired to pair her images with text, alike artist Duane Michals. She has always been an explorer as such, she states how when renting a photographers house, she used the cameras there and began shooting in a cemetery, then moving to Paris and allowing people to sleep in her bed as part of a project which landed her in an exhibition.
Calle’s work inspires me to get more personal with the potential text alongside my imagery, perhaps detail certain events or document a personal message from myself to those involved in the imagery. I want to make this project as personal as possible and explore a bit more with communicating with my audience as well as documenting the communication with those in the imagery. In an interview conducted ( https://bombmagazine.org/articles/sophie-calle-hotel-room-as-medium/ ) it is stated “Calle is adamant that her work is about making a context rather than writing a diary: “I don’t feel it’s my private life.”” Perhaps, my work is to describe context to events I am sharing and then to welcome the viewer in to a personal conversation.
Emily Ryder 