Double Game was the first major publication in English by French artist Sophie Calle (born 1953), and is her bestselling title to date. It takes the form of a double jeu or double game between the work of Sophie Calle and the fiction of Paul Auster. The story begins with Maria, a fictional character in Paul Auster’s novel, Leviathan. Most of the fictional Maria’s works are, in fact, based on those of the real-life Sophie Calle. The first section of Double Game features Calle’s representations of the fictional Maria’s works. We see the pieces both as they’re described in their fictional context and as Calle’s own interpretation of the descriptions from Paul Auster’s novel. In the second section, the story delves deeper into Calle’s world, with a sequence of Calle’s seminal narrative and abstract works in texts and images that were in turn appropriated by the fictional Maria in Leviathan. The third section of Double Game switches the focus back to Maria’s original creator, Paul Auster, who takes Calle as his subject, formulating for her the Gotham Handbook, which offers personalized instructions for the artist on “How to Improve Life in New York City.” This is the British edition of the 2007 reprint.
"In his novel Leviathan, Paul Auster thanks me for having authorized him to mingle fact with fiction. And indeed on pages 60 to 67 of his book, he uses a number of episodes from my life to create a fictive character named Maria. Intrigued by this double, I decided to turn Paul Auster's novel into a game and to make my own particular mixture of reality and fiction." – Sophie Calle on Double Game, one of 10 books profiled in this weekend's T Magazine feature, 'Sophie Calle, in Books.' Reporter Mary Kaye Schilling calls this beautifully printed clothbound volume with paper changes and silk ribbon a "delightfully meta project." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 5.5 x 7.5 in. / 296 pgs / 85 color / 373 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $39.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $53.95 ISBN: 9781900828284 PUBLISHER: Violette Editions AVAILABLE: 11/30/2013 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by Violette Editions. With the participation of Paul Auster.
Double Game was the first major publication in English by French artist Sophie Calle (born 1953), and is her bestselling title to date. It takes the form of a double jeu or double game between the work of Sophie Calle and the fiction of Paul Auster. The story begins with Maria, a fictional character in Paul Auster’s novel, Leviathan. Most of the fictional Maria’s works are, in fact, based on those of the real-life Sophie Calle. The first section of Double Game features Calle’s representations of the fictional Maria’s works. We see the pieces both as they’re described in their fictional context and as Calle’s own interpretation of the descriptions from Paul Auster’s novel. In the second section, the story delves deeper into Calle’s world, with a sequence of Calle’s seminal narrative and abstract works in texts and images that were in turn appropriated by the fictional Maria in Leviathan. The third section of Double Game switches the focus back to Maria’s original creator, Paul Auster, who takes Calle as his subject, formulating for her the Gotham Handbook, which offers personalized instructions for the artist on “How to Improve Life in New York City.” This is the British edition of the 2007 reprint.
