SOPHIE CALLE, AHEM!

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A lively (read heated) exchange of commentary at the SALON regarding Sophie Calle's exhibition "TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF" at the Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea is duly noted in our hearts and minds and warranted a mention in ARTS RAVEL. Here is the link to the blog article that is written by one of our Salonistas' elegantly furthering that discussion: http://artsravel.blogspot.com/2009/05/sophie-calles-take-care-of-yourself-id.html I enjoyed reading Arts Ravel and learned some stuff! It's always a pleasant journey for me to follow the links that are posted, and this time I unexpectedly found an "ANSWER" which clarified my own queries about the CALLE exhibition (which I personally loved), and the numerous pieces in the installation.

This is it !!!

For those of you who have seen the installation of the numerous artworks... OULIPO: History: (read later) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo

WHAT IT IS ? (read this first)

Some examples of Oulipian writing: Queneau's Exercices de Style is the recounting of the same inconsequential episode ninety-nine times, in which a man witnesses a minor altercation on a bus trip, each unique in terms of tone and style.

Plaisirs singuliers by Harry Mathews (the only American member of Oulipo) describes 61 different scenes, each told in a different style (generally poetic, elaborate, or circumlocutory) in which 61 different people (all of different ages, nationalities, and walks of life) masturbate.

Queneau's Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes is inspired by children's picture books in which each page is cut into horizontal strips which can be turned independently, allowing different pictures (usually of people) to be combined in many ways. Queneau applies this technique to poetry: the book contains 10 sonnets, each on a page. Each page is split into 14 strips, one for each line. The author estimates in the introductory explanation that it would take approximately 200 million years to read all possible combinations.

FAST FORWARD...THIS IS VERY FRENCH...CALLE IS VERY FRENCH...PASSIONATE ROMANTIC DRAMA IS VERY FRENCH...I won't say La V