Louise Bourgeois' art has been connected to her background and upbringing - remained at the forefront of continuous new advancements as an artist for nearly six decades in the profession. She always did so in her own evocative and innovative language.
Louise Bourgeois made a name for herself by using techniques, ideas, and images were based on her childhood memories to produce radically innovative and frightening works of art. Primarily motivated by the art scene in Paris during the 1930s, Louise was creating strong pictures inspired by the unconscious that made even the massive exhibition space seem warm and intimate.
Ode à ma mère, 1995
The complete portfolio, comprising nine drypoints
11 3/4 × 11 3/4 in 29.8 × 29.8 cm
Maman is a French word that means 'mummy' - was made by Louise as a tribute to the artist's passionate but troubled connection with her mother intended to represent the complexities of a parent's connection with their kid. The spider's belly carry eggs, precisely like a pregnant mother's. Louise's mother had passed by the time she began working on Maman. The protecting spider was to honour her work as a weaver and tapestry restorer, as spiders are some of the finest weavers.
Loise claims that her mother - like a spider - was gentle, calming, subtle, and beneficial. Loise glimpsed a mirror of herself in both her spiders and mother. Spiders were both feared and respected in Louise's eyes. Maman had an equivocal image; beneath its menacing aspect, there was an illusion of protection from evil, as spiders to die out disease-carrying mosquitos.
Loise took for the spider as a metaphor for the mother-patient archetype, which is laborious and vital to the environment, much as spiders are. Of all photographs were tied to her private and intimate experiences, which was a recurring theme throughout her work. The interaction of closeness, isolation, and feminism was one of the most intense sentiments harp with her audience.
Ode à ma Mère, 1995
"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."
Spider, 1997. Steel, tapestry, wood, glass, fabric, rubber, silver, gold and bone. "Everywhere in the modern world there is neglect, the need to be recognized, which is not satisfied.
Art is a way of recognizing oneself, which is why it will always be modern."
Maman, 1999, bronze and steel, outside Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum.
Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbera.
"The spiders, which are portraits of my mother, are large because she was a monument to me.
I want to walk around and be underneath her and feel her protection."
Maman was adamant in denying any political drives in art since Louise also set the stage for the feminine form with the egg sac. It's worth noting that Maman had little to no political agenda (her symbolism was relative to personal experiences). Louise is now, yet, most closely linked with the feminist movement - despite this, Maman pulls up for viewers to discover something with which it may identify.
Gisela Perez | 09:02 AM
Thursday, January 27, 2022 (PST)
Time in Los Angeles, CA
Artpendix Press
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