Hi.
We're here in the scenic, warm West Town
Neighborhood of Chicago to visit the artist Deb Sokolow.
Deb makes huge, wall-sized drawings
that tell elaborate stories using text, diagrams,
and images.
What makes her work so interesting
is that the narratives are densely layered
and blend fact and fiction.
In them, she unravels complex conspiracy theories,
and delves into the inner and alternate lives
of artists, politicians, celebrities,
and even neighbors.
So let's get out of this bitter cold,
and go see what Deb has in store for us.
I'm Deb Sokolow, and this is your art assignment.
2003 was when I had sort of an art crisis.
And I think I had a lot to do with what was going
on in the world at the time.
Of course, it's post-9/11, and we're going to war.
And art felt like a very decadent luxury.
I remember a grad school critique
where there was a someone on faculty looked at their work,
and they said, well, this looks like a waste of materials.
And I must have looked outraged.
But in my mind, I thought, yeah, isn't it?
It really is a waste of materials.
Why am I here?
SARAH GREEN: So Deb decided to take an art break
and watch a bunch of movies instead.
One of those movies was "Rocky" which
she related to on a deep level.
Not just a boxing movie, "Rocky" was about going the distance,
and love.
So she decided to map out that love story,
and created a nine-foot long slow chart
that begins as an objective account and unravels
into a highly subjective tale, as she inserts herself
into the story as an alternate love interest for Rocky.
Like Rocky, Deb prevailed.
She continued to make art, but in this new way,
exploring stories and people with obsessive intensity,
paying such close attention to others that it
became a kind of surveillance.
This assignment is called The Stakeout.
So for The Stakeout, what you're going to do
is place an object or objects in a public spot, perhaps
on a sidewalk somewhere.
And you're going to observe that spot for as long as it takes.
See if anyone picks up the object and takes it with them
or picks up the object and looks at it
and then puts it back down.
Record whatever happens.
It could be photographs.
It could be words.
It could be sketches.
And show your documentation.
No, no, no.
This is another one with no painting.
Oh.
Well, you know, Deb isn't pure social practice.
I mean, she does an action like this,
and then she goes back to her studio and she makes a drawing.
A drawing.
Now, see, that I understand.
OK, OK.
And I do like that this is about surveillance
and very topical.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
It's extremely relevant.
I mean, with the NSA controversy.
Yeah, and it makes you into the watcher instead of the watched,
which is interesting.
Right.
Well, and of course, there is precedent for it too.
Oh, I'm sure there's art historical precedence.
Do you wanna see some?
Of course.
OK.
SARAH GREEN: Deb's Stakeout calls
to mind Vito Acconci's "Following Piece" of 1969.
Every day for a month, he randomly
chose a stranger on the streets of New York
and followed them until they entered a private space.
About it, he said, I am almost not an I anymore.
I put myself in the service of this scheme.
There's also Sophie Calle's "Suite Ventienne,"
which began in Paris in 1980 when
she followed and quickly lost sight of a man she spotted
on the street.
By chance, she later met him at a party
and learned he was about to take a trip to Venice.
So she donned a blonde wig and followed him there.
For 13 days, Calle pursued the man throughout the city,
taking photos and writing detailed reports,
including thoughts like, I must not
forget that I don't have any amorous feelings toward Henri
B.
Acconci, Calle, and Sokolow's stalker-like activities
raise important questions about the nature of surveillance.
Does The Stakeout reveal more about the watcher
or the watched?
Is it about the clandestine thrill
of spying, or exposing the vulnerability of others?
And what are the limits of public and private space?
I think it might encourage people to become more observant
about their surroundings.
When you walk through life with your headphones
on all the time and music blaring,
you're missing out on whatever's going on around you.
And I think that that's a big mistake.
I think there's something important
about paying attention to other people,
and about being curious.
SARAH GREEN: OK.
So here's where this idea came from.
For months, someone had been stealing
deb's Sunday "New York Times."
It's delivered to the doorstep of her building,
and if she got there before 7:30 in the morning,
the paper was there.
If it was later, the paper was likely gone.
Completely fed up, Deb and her boyfriend made a plan.
They would stuff the preview week's copy back
into the plastic sleeve, put a note on it
that said, we are watching you, plant it outside the door,
and then watch it from the cafe across the street.
But the morning in question, they
were tired, so her boyfriend ended up planting the paper,
but went back inside and promptly fell asleep.
Someone took the paper, and they didn't see who it was.
The next week, Deb tried again and planted
another dummy paper.
This time with a note that said, we now know who you are.
Well rested this time, Deb sat at the cafe across the street,
drank coffee, watch what happened, and took pictures.
Two individuals stopped and looked at the paper,
but neither took it.
And no one has taken it since.
So this made her think.
She could plant anything out there and watch what happens.
And then I saw this one book-- it's
the very first book I ever purchased
on conspiracy theories.
And it's a little dictionary of conspiracy theories.
And to sort of sweeten the pot, I
would put in some dollar bills, kind of sticking out,
just to see if that would grab attention.
If no one even looks at it, then I might go back out
and move the dollar bills up.
Or maybe I'll just end up putting a 20 in there
if no one really approaches it.
And I don't want this to get wet.
No one wants a wet book.
So I might put some cardboard underneath it.
But I'm definitely going to prop it up
on the side of the building so that it
looks like someone intentionally left it there instead
of, having it just flat on the side walk,
and that looks like someone dropped it.
And I want it to look very intentional.
Oh, there's someone else.
Oh, but he's gonna block it.
Oh.
Oh!
Oh.
How great is this?
Oh, finally.
Finally.
Oh!
Oh.
[SIGHING]
Oh.
Oh!
[LAUGHING]
Running.
He's noticing it.
He's not going for it.
Is it time to put the $20 in?
WOMAN: Put the $20?
DEB SOKOLOW: Yeah.
WOMAN: Maybe.
DEB SOKOLOW: Spooky, what do you think?
What do you think, Miss Kitty?
Here comes a couple guys.
Uh-- uh-- uh-- somebody-- come over.
Come over.
This guy-- this guy right here.
WOMAN: This guy?
DEB SOKOLOW: Yeah.
He passed it.
Now, he's coming back.
WOMAN: Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Oh!
[LAUGHING]
I would have hoped that there would
have been a little something more that would have happened.
I think it would have been great if two people had picked up
the book together.
And maybe there would have been a conversation about that.
So I'm a little bit disappointed.
But I'm also really happy that someone took it.
And I think it's really interesting
that he took it not too long after I put the $20 in.
And I did bookmark the bills.
The bills were bookmarking certain conspiracy theories
in the book.
So I was a little bummed that the guy who took
ended up taking the book and the money,
took the money right out of the book right away,
and didn't see what was bookmarked.
Now, I miss the book.
I wish I had that book back.
Did I do it right?
MAN: Absolutely.
OK.
Awesome.
[LAUGHING]
Are you gonna put that in?