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Sophie Calle

 

While Sophie Calle is primarily celebrated as a conceptual and performance artist, photography plays a central role in her work. She has used a variety of camera tools—sometimes with her own hands, sometimes commissioning professionals—to suit the conceptual needs of each project. 

Here’s a breakdown:

35 mm Film Cameras (Personal Use & Surveillance)

  • For work like Suite Vénitienne (1979), she followed a subject secretly through Venice using a 35 mm setup with a mirror attachment, allowing her to shoot discreetly around corners as a kind of “private eye”. Her camera was a Leica and the device a Squintar.

Squintar

  • Early on, her personal camera was unspecified, often tucked into bags or pockets—one she reportedly received from her father—and she used it intuitively without formal technique or gear preference.

  • She also mentions taking photographs with her phone.

Polaroid & Hired Fashion Cameramen

  • For projects without interpersonal interaction—like photographing graves or objects—she’d take Polaroids to frame her vision, then hire a professional to reproduce them at higher quality .

  • In portrait-style works (e.g., self-portraits), she sometimes commissioned fashion photographers, notably Jean-Baptiste Mondino, to execute the technical aspects.

Video & Still: Collaborative Crews

  • In projects combining film and stills, such as Voir la mer (2011), she employed a director of photography, e.g., Caroline Champetier, indicating a deliberate, collaborative production.

What This Reveals About Her Practice

  • Concept-first approach: Gear is secondary; technical precision is outsourced when needed.

  • Versatility: She adapts medium and tools—35 mm, Polaroid, hired professionals—based on each artwork's conceptual orientation.

  • Collaborative flexibility: She treats technical photography as one element of her artistic process, involving experts when the idea demands it.

Bottom Line

Sophie Calle isn’t defined by a specific camera or lens. Her art demands that the tool matches the idea—whether shooting covertly in Venice with a mirror-equipped 35 mm, framing Polaroids as creative previews, or enlisting professional talent for polished outputs. Gear, in her world, is a means to conceptual and narrative ends.

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