Sophie Calle
The Tie
Zurich, Switzerland: Parkett Editions, 1993
79.7 x 21.2 cm.
Edition of 150 signed and numbered copies
Continuing Calle's voyeuristic engagement with strangers, this brown silk ties recounts a one-sided correspondence:
"I saw him for the first time in December 1985, at a lecture he was giving. I found him attractive but something bothered me: he was wearing an ugly tie. The next day I anonymously sent him a thin brown tie. Later I saw him in a restaurant; he was wearing it. Unfortunately, it clashed with his shirt. It was then I decided to take on the task of dressing him from head to toe: I would send him one article of clothing every year at Christmas. In 1986, he received a pair of silk grey socks; in 1987, a black alpaca sweater; in 1988, a white shirt; in 1989, a pair of gold-plated cuff links; in 1990, a pair of boxer shorts with a Christmas tree pattern; nothing in 1991; and in 1992, a pair of grey trousers. Some day, when he is fully dressed by me, I would like to be introduced to him.”
Produced for Parkette Magazine Volume 36 over thirty years ago, the work is still available from the publisher, for €1,200.00, here.
“Like a sculptor of a past century, Sophie Calle in her art manipulates and reconfigures a commodity central to the economy of her time. This commodity does not happen to be bronze or marble, however, but information, the elusive stuff that circulates constantly between consciousness, document and cyberspace.”
- Lucy Sante, Parkett, 1993
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