Sophie Calle

Sophie Calle (born 1953) is a French conceptual artist and photographer whose practice systematically investigates questions of surveillance, intimacy, chance and the documentation of human behaviour through a combination of text and photography. Her early works, including Les Dormeurs (1979) and La Filature (1981), in which she arranged to have herself followed through Paris by a private detective, established her reputation for works structured around elaborate personal and social protocols. Calle has represented France at the Venice Biennale and exhibited at major institutions internationally including the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Her work has had a significant influence on subsequent generations of artists working with autobiography, narrative and conceptual constraint.

  • The Power of the City / The City of Power, Whitney Museum of American Art, 1992, front cover, aerial photograph of Manhattan, black-and-white, $5 retail sticker The Power of the City, Whitney ISP, 1992, pp. 18–19, Dennis Adams, Bus Shelter II, 1984–86; David Hammons, Bliz-aard Ball Sale, 1983, black-and-white

    THE POWER OF THE CITY / THE CITY OF POWER, Whitney ISP Papers No. 1, 1992

    THE POWER OF THE CITY / THE CITY OF POWER, Whitney ISP Papers No. 1, 1992