Le Téléphone, Public art sculpture at Pont du Garigliano, Paris, France.
Le Telephone is a metal sculpture shaped like a large flower with aluminum petals, featuring a telephone booth integrated into its red base structure. The work brought together architectural design language with conceptual art, creating an interactive installation that occupied the streetscape near the tramway terminus.
Created in 2006 as a commission for the opening of the southern tramway extension, the work was developed by artist Sophie Calle in collaboration with architect Frank Gehry. The telephone component was removed in 2012, marking the end of the interactive phase of the installation.
The work functioned as an interactive communication device where people could pick up the ringing telephone to hear stories directly from the artist on the other end. This turned a passing moment on the street into an intimate exchange between the creator and anonymous pedestrians.
The sculpture is located in an active area with good public transport connections, right at the southern tramway stop. Visitors should know that the telephone component is no longer present, so only the metal flower structure itself can be seen today.
The artist Sophie Calle herself would answer the incoming calls and share personal stories with whoever picked up the phone in the street. This unusual format made it one of the first permanent interactive art projects in France's public space.
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