Magical birthday encounter

When we walked up to the ticket desk at the Picasso Museum in Paris, the attendant warned us that there were no paintings by Picasso on view in the museum at this time.

She asked, “Do you still want a ticket?”

HELL OUI!” I replied.

I’d come to the museum specifically to see one of my very favorite artists in the world, Sophia Calle. She’d emptied the museum of all works by Picasso and replaced all four floors with her own work. She also recreated her apartment in the museum be emptying her own home filled with art, letters, taxidermy animals, relics, tchotchkes, and assorted other novelties. Only a total bad ass artist like Sophie Calle could replace Picasso’s art in a museum dedicated to Picasso with her own works to commemorate the worldwide 100th anniversary of his death.

As I walked through the exhibit, I exclaimed over and over, “This is brilliant!” Or, “This is so clever and amazing!” I couldn’t stop smiling.

In one part of the exhibit, I learned her birthday was October 9, just four days before mine. Bursting with joy, I ran over to tell Fella, who politely smiled and nodded as if to say, how nice for you that she doesn’t share your exact birthday.

On the top floor, she’d written text on the wall next to a plain, white door stating, I moved everything in my apartment into the museum to make this exhibit so now I have nowhere to stay. I made this little office where I sleep sometimes. So knock on the door and I might be here to answer.

So I knocked, with no expectation whatsoever that she’d be in the room.

Unsurprisingly, no one answered.

I shrugged my shoulders and turned to walk away. And bumped into a petite woman with long brown bangs, wearing sunglasses.

Could it really be her?!

It was her! Sophie Calle!

“Bonjour! I stammered.

After taking a couple photos together, I burst into tears as she retreated into her office. Tears of utter joy. I’d experienced the shock of awe and wonder.

And I felt like I’d somehow manifested her presence for my birthday.