Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

An Old Frame for a Rediscovered Image

by Conrad Solomon

Sophie Calle, renowned French contemporary artist, presents “Last Seen”, an exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum inspired by the tragic theft in 1990 of several of it’s many prized paintings. In this exhibit of contemporary artwork a combination of memories, thoughts and emotions serve to shed light on the impact that the absence of the paintings has caused to those who have dedicated their hearts to the museum.

“Last Seen” delivers the truly touching impact of the heist through a combination of both photographic and textual pieces. By forming a collection of thoughts and reactions from people with varying relationships to the museum, the story of each of the absent paintings is redelivered in a surprisingly vivid way. Sophie Calle, by taking the varying responses from each of the subjects tasked with recalling a certain piece, recreates the description of each painting, which in turn serves to give you something to fill the empty frame with. Sophie Calle uses the occasional opposing viewpoints from those who were tasked with recalling the now absent paintings to redeliver the ambiguity of each work of art.

The combination of textual description and photographs of the empty frames where the stolen works once were, offers an innovative and refreshing way of connecting to a piece. In this instance, Calle not only manages to connect you to the pieces that were stolen, but also to the impact the absence each piece has caused to those who share a relationship with the museum. Upon reading each different person’s recollection of each painting you get a sense for what those paintings looked like. In other words, Calle gives you your own personal interpretation of the text to fill the blank frame with.