Louise Bourgeois was a ground breaking French-American feminist sculpture, painter and printmaker.. She is known for her large scale sculptures often reflecting motifs of sexuality, domesticity and the human form. I find her work so captivating, from the messages which are so deep set into her pieces. She expresses forms through figurative and abstract techniques.
Bourgeois is probably best known for spiders. In 1947 she created two simple ink and charcoal drawings of a spider. Fifty years later, in the late 1990s, she revisited the theme, creating various ominous spider sculptures. Spiders are infamous, symbolizing fear, even irrational fear. There’s a connection with Bourgeois’ past.Bourgeois’ early life was largely based around her family's tapestry restoration business. Her father was distant and so when her mother died when Bourgeois was just twenty-two Bourgeois was abandoned. This is a key theme in her work. This connection with the tapestry industry could suggest a metaphor for her spider works, the strings from the tapestries relating to the web of the spider relating to security and her mother’s nurturing. This contrasts with the predatory nature of spiders connecting to the distrust of her father.
I love the way Bourgeois expresses herself in her creations, the fluidity of her lines and naturalistic forms is both inspiring and hypnotic.
Her work is really inspiring when it comes to my satancial interest, creating an ominous threatening art without directly making a statement.. She has the courage to allow her work and motifs to speak for themselves.