The Telephone

Localization

Being connected with urban Movable , work is installed in the Public space Parisian south-west, on the pavement downstream of the Pont of Garigliano, halfway between two banks, where it overhangs the the Seine of 11 meters.

It is thus in extreme cases between the districts of Auteuil, in the 16 {{E}} district, and of Javel, in the 15 {{E}}, although it adminstrativement is adminstrativement attached to this last.

Description

A a little particular public phone…

It is about a public Phone. But being deprived of dial and Means of payment, it cannot emit outgoing call. It cannot receive incoming call either, with share of the artist itself, since it is the only one to know the number of it.

Thus regularly makes it sound compound since its residence of Malakoff, at random moments ( when good seems to me , she says, with 04:00 of the morning or more suitable hours , and perhaps three times in the same night ), in order to dialog with the passers by which the ringing will have attracted, to tell them of the stories, for one length of time quite as random ( eight seconds or four hours ). It urged to by contract carry out this interactive performance five times by Semaine during at least three years.

The compound is hung on the side of a large case Rouge, is fixed in an oblique way at the structure of the cabin, and carrying a lic plate Métal on which is engraved an explanatory text written in French and in English.

This plate was not present during the inauguration of work. She was added in the month which followed, and carried the text then:

Approximately two months later, it was again replaced by another almost identical plate, presenting the same text but with a Typographie and a slightly different provision:

Concerning the genesis of this idea, Sophie Calle explains that it had after having it read an article on a phone box which was in the Désert, which had been left there following work. Perhaps a year later, somebody saw that it always functioned. And it became a place where people were going to await telephone calls of one does not know where. .

… within a monumental sculpture

This telephone headset is placed within large a Sculpture from approximately 5 Mètre S top, established on the edge external of the Trottoir, and fastened with the Garde-fou of the Pont. In form of Fleur, her six Pétale S are made of Aluminum painted in Rouge, pink Jaune and . She is enlightened the Nuit.

It is this work of Frank Gehry which gained the organized contest in an abstract way by Sophie Calle, to which also took share Jean Nouvel and Dominique Lyon, which of it is charged.

Aluminum was then run in these moulds, operation ensured by the Fonderie Blanc, with Angouleme.

It is again Socra which carried out the assembly of the petals thus run, initially with white in its workshops, then in situ .

A work of order

It is the first of the nine works of Contemporary art ordered by the public authorities (Ville of Paris, District council of Ile-de-France, Ministère of the Culture) to mark out the layout of the first section of the Tram of the Marshals (line 3 of the Parisian Tramway), brought into service in December 2006.

In fact, work is built on the bridge which gives its name to the terminus western of this section, distant of approximately 200 meters: the station Bridge of Garigliano.

It was financed by the Town of Paris to height of: 269880.36 Euro S, on the 4 million allocated with the whole of nine works.

The Maîtrise of work was entrusted to contemporary public Art, as for all works composing the artistic accompaniment of the tram.

Its inauguration took place the December 14th, that is to say two days before that of the tram, which was held the 16. Sophie Calle was not present, but his/her Sam son was it.

Critical

A few days before the inauguration of work, the mayor UMP of the 15th district, Rene Galy-Dejean, on the councils of its assistant Ghislène Fonlladosa, emitted near the prefect of police two apprehensions in connection with his establishment:

the sculpture being relatively bulky, it would obstruct the passage of the Piéton S on the pavement (however broad 3,50 meters), obliging them to pass on the Chaussée, and thus to cotoyer the Véhicule S, which would constitute a threat for their safety;
the sculpture would facilitate the crossing-over of the parapet, and could be used like a kind of Plongeoir in the the Seine; the installation of a safety net was thus suggested.

The fact that it is not directly on the course of the tram also caused some interrogations.

Work also was largely presented like a public money wasting.

It should be noted that the object was covered quickly with tags and that the refuses are amoncellent with its foot, which can be interpreted like a virulent criticism of its esthetics and its character of work of Article.

See too

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