Artist research: Louise Bourgeois

 Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) is a French well-known sculpture maker, painter and a printmaker (McNay, 2010). She is most known for her large-scale sculptures, for instance, one of the works that is frequently mentioned when talking about Bourgeois, is a nine meter spider sculpture - Maman(1999), a tribute to her mother. The sculpture being heavily inspired by the spider shape, it creates metaphors of spinning, weaving, nurture and protection that correlates to her mother’s figure in her life (US sculptor Louise Bourgeois dies, 2010). 

Louise Bourgeois's Maman(1999) in Bilbao, Spain; photography by Luis Tejido

            “ The Spider is an ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver. My family was in the business of tapestry restoration, and my mother was in charge of the workshop. Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that eat mosquitoes. We know that mosquitoes spread diseases and are therefore unwanted. So, spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother.”

- Louise Bourgeois (Cited from In pictures: Giant spider takes up residence at Tate, 2007)

After elaboration from the author herself, the perception of the sculpture changes drastically. Louise Bourgeois is known for her meaningful work with topics such as family, love, death, sexuality, feminism and body.

The couple(2003) by Louise Bourgeois in Ekeberg Park

Sculptures is a very strong side of her career, her sculptures inspired me greatly for my project. In particular, I saw her work named The Couple (2003) while coming up with my idea of the sculpture. The Couple studies interpersonal relationships - as couples can stay together for the entirety of their lives, for better or worse, an intimately hugging shapes hang among the trees (Ekebergparken, 2015). 

            “The spiral is an attempt at controlling the chaos. It has two directions. Where do you place
yourself, at the periphery or at the vortex? Beginning at the outside is the fear of losing control;
the winding in is a tightening, a retreating, a compacting to the point of disappearance.
Beginning at the center is affirmation, the move outward is a representation of giving, and giving
up control; of trust, positive energy, of life itself.”

-Louise Bourgeois (Cited from Louise Bourgeois: Twosome, n.d.)

I liked how Bourgeois used the human figure in her sculpture and mixed it with abstract shapes to create her own meaning, because such a simple gesture as a hug could be manipulated into countless variations to create own context, which is a valuable skill to have as an artist and is a great idea to use in my project.

References:

McNay, M. (2010). Louise Bourgeois obituary. The Guardian. [online] 31 May. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/may/31/louise-bourgeois-obituary-art [Accessed 3 Jun. 2024].

US sculptor Louise Bourgeois dies. (2010). news.bbc.co.uk. [online] 1 Jun. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8714974.stm [Accessed 3 Jun. 2024].

In pictures: Giant spider takes up residence at Tate. (2007). The Guardian. [online] 3 Oct. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/arts/gallery/2007/oct/03/spider [Accessed 3 Jun. 2024].

Ekebergparken. (2015). The Couple. [online] Available at: https://ekebergparken.com/en/kunst/couple [Accessed 4 Jun. 2024].

Louise Bourgeois: Twosome. (n.d.). Couples. [online] Available at: http://www.bourgeois-tamuseum.org.il/media/couples/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2024].