when sophie met marcel, or proust part 3

questions to ask yourself, or to let sophie calle and grégoire bouillier ask you...(as seen in Jacket 28, Oct 2005 )

When did you last die?

i die a little each night and am reborn in my dreams

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
love & coffee image is from here, lovely blog about food and love

What became of your childhood dreams? I carry them in a pocket in my heart

What sets you apart from from everyone else?

dna, I suppose

What is missing from your life? being close to the sea

Do you think that everyone can be an artist? nope - being artistic doesn't mean you have the drive or discipline to be an artist; producing bad work doesn't preclude you either. being a dilletante does, though.
bunnies >>
Mari Newman is showing a collection of works at MOBA. While many pieces were taken from dumpsters or found in abandoned buildings, Mari seems to have willingly submitted.
The Museum of Bad Art (MoBA) in the Dedham Community Theater . It's in the basement outside the men's bathroom, illuminated by a single fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling.
Where do you come from? the other side of the universe

Do you find your lot an enviable one? i’ve never thought about it, but having heard the question I wonder what someone else would have done with it.

What have you given up? my “youth"
What do you do with your money? buy fripparies

What household task gives you the most trouble?

what household tasks don't give me most trouble?
What are your favorite pleasures?

sleeping, laughing and loving

What would you like to receive for your birthday? time to unravel and sprawl

Cite three living artists whom you detest.

jeff koons, juan davila, gilbert & george. all yuck!

What do you stick up for? myself, and a weird set of ethics and morals – recycling plastic, driving savviness, not being mean, painting elephants

What are you capable of refusing? various cuts of meat

What is the most fragile part of your body? my mind
(illustration of/by david shrigley's mind...)








What has love made you capable of doing? believing and trying

look at these billboards of love

What do other people reproach you for? being late and forgetting

What does art do for you? it makes me catch my breath, think and imagine - what i love most is that art is everywhere

Write your epitaph. we just thought she was sleeping

In what form would you like to return?
a parrot

sophie answers some freize questions (and reiterates the ones above)

What do you wish you knew?At this moment, I wish I knew how to answer your questionnaire, even though it would not change things much if I could.
What images keep you company in the space where you work?

In my studio there is a stuffed giraffe that I bought when my mother died, to replace her. Her name is Monique too, and she looks at me from on high with sadness and irony, just like my mother did. So in a way it is the image of my mother that keeps me company.

What was the first piece of art that mattered to you? What is your favourite title of an art work?
Why is it so easy to talk about my mother’s death and go absolutely blank when asked about a work of art that matters, or its title? I guess because I never ask myself that kind of question.

What could you imagine doing if you didn’t do what you do? What should change? What music are you listening to? What are you reading? What is art for?

I should have been a secret agent: if I were secret enough no one would ask me what music I listen to, what books I read, or what art is for. I don’t like to answer questions. At the opening of the show, ‘Dislocations’, at New York’s MoMA in 1991, I was introduced for the first time to Louise Bourgeois. She told me, drily: ‘If you have any questions for me, ask my son.’ Out of irritation, I said: ‘I don’t have anything to ask you’. To which she replied: ‘Aren’t you the one who asks questions?’ Indeed. So here’s a questionnaire for you.

When did you last die? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What became of your childhood dreams? What sets you apart from everyone else? What is missing from your life? Do you think that everyone can be an artist? Where do you come from? Do you find your lot an enviable one? What have you given up? What do you do with your money? What household task gives you the most trouble? What are your favourite pleasures? What would you like to receive for your birthday? Cite three living artists whom you detest. What do you stick up for? What are you capable of refusing? What is the most fragile part of your body? What has love made you capable of doing? What do other people reproach you for? What does art do for you? Write your epitaph. In what form would you like to return?

I don’t think my mother would have chosen to return as a stuffed giraffe in the studio of her daughter, but she is dead.