It’s been several years since this show, but I still don’t understand why the Brooklyn Museum allowed a comedian who appeared on Netflix to host a show about how much he hates Pablo Picasso. Some will disagree with me, but I don’t think internet fame gives enough qualifications to try to take down one of the greatest artists of all time. Should we let MrBeast do a video essay on whether Federico Fellini is rated? Soon I had read Hawk Tuah’s withering book on Virginia Woolf.
Sophie Calle (b. 1953), on the other hand, is eminently qualified to out-Picasso, and she does so in “Sophie Calle: Something Missing?,” a new exhibit that fills the entire West Wing at the Louisiana Museum. Picassos in Lockdown-his work that appeared around the Musée Picasso in Paris at that unusual time in world history, when, like our faces, works were covered with strange clothes to protect them from invisible forces – is one of the seven series presented in Humlebæk. In total, the exhibition includes more than 300 pieces in photographs, texts and video, covering almost 40 years of work.
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“Sophie Calle: Is Something Missing?” |
The blind (1986) was the basis for his takeover of the Picasso Museum in 2023. In this previous series, Calle asked 23 people who were born blind what their ideal of beauty was. It establishes his method of matching words and pictures and quickly shows how it works. Blind n°4 (1986) highlights the response “Green is good. Because every time I like something, I’m told it’s green.” This is paired with a framed lawn photo that will shock you at your age. You will look at a lot there, wondering if it is possible that our ability to see is its own kind of evil.
The rhetor is tested internally Voir la mer (Seeing the Sea) (2011), a video work of the program alone. In it, Calle finds migrant workers from inside Turkey and brings them to the Black Sea, ordering them not to look up until they are at the water’s edge. Then they turn around. This silent piece takes its inspiration from the Rückenfigur paintings that allowed the viewer to enjoy the glory of nature during the romantic era, and the expression of the face is not only emotionally impactful but also breaks the fourth wall. The old man, who has waited his whole life to see this, looks at you suspiciously. The little girl almost backs off, in a way that makes you feel silly for thinking she’s going to get carried away.
Why do you take pictures at all? The answers lie Because (2018-2023), a series that pairs a picture with a hanging felt panel. The embroidery of the felt is the reason that the picture should be taken. Real-Fake (2018) features a photo of artificial flowers in a museum saying “no need to touch, they’re fake.” Reason: “Because you could replace the word ‘fake’ with ‘real’ and the meaning would be exactly the same.” It feels strange to describe the imperfection of these flowers, which is why the sign is necessary, because Calle’s work was slightly anticipating my doing this. We can count ourselves among those who are missing from his work.
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