Au Revoir, Louise Bourgeois
May 31, 2010 5:45 PM Subscribe
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posted by Hey Dean Yeager! at 6:35 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by Hey Dean Yeager! at 6:35 PM on May 31, 2010
Awww. I was lucky to get to see an exhibition of hers quite by accident when I was travelling through Prague in 1995. At that time I only knew her as that weird lady with the giant cock. I was really pleased to know that she did a lot of other neat stuff. My favorite were these little rooms she made out of doors and windows and then put neat stuff inside fo them. You can see a few of them at the bottom of the link. I know most people think of her as the lady who made the spiders or as the lady in the Mapplethorpe photo but she had this huge amazing range. I love finding other weird and neat looking stuff she has done.
posted by jessamyn at 7:02 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by jessamyn at 7:02 PM on May 31, 2010
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The first works of hers I saw were cubist drawings in the Vienna MAK. The last one I saw was the Maman spider sculpture at the Tate. It's amazing to think how many years and how many art movements her career spanned.
posted by girlgenius at 7:15 PM on May 31, 2010
The first works of hers I saw were cubist drawings in the Vienna MAK. The last one I saw was the Maman spider sculpture at the Tate. It's amazing to think how many years and how many art movements her career spanned.
posted by girlgenius at 7:15 PM on May 31, 2010
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posted by roll truck roll at 7:17 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by roll truck roll at 7:17 PM on May 31, 2010
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posted by dog food sugar at 7:20 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by dog food sugar at 7:20 PM on May 31, 2010
^*^
(that's a spider)
Shortly after the ICA Boston opened, they had an exhibition of her work. It blew me away-- the way she played with space and form, and the way her personality showed through her work. You'll be missed, Louise.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:27 PM on May 31, 2010
(that's a spider)
Shortly after the ICA Boston opened, they had an exhibition of her work. It blew me away-- the way she played with space and form, and the way her personality showed through her work. You'll be missed, Louise.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:27 PM on May 31, 2010
The Tate has more pics up (too few, sadly) from its 2008 Bourgeois show.
And there's an odd and fascinating article about her at the World Socialist Web Site linked from the Wikipedia page.
posted by mediareport at 7:37 PM on May 31, 2010
And there's an odd and fascinating article about her at the World Socialist Web Site linked from the Wikipedia page.
posted by mediareport at 7:37 PM on May 31, 2010
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A trailer from the 2008 documentary on the artist, "Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, The Mistress and The Tangerine".
posted by stagewhisper at 8:12 PM on May 31, 2010
A trailer from the 2008 documentary on the artist, "Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, The Mistress and The Tangerine".
posted by stagewhisper at 8:12 PM on May 31, 2010
From the trailer: "Materials are not the subject of the artist..." (emotions are)
A more profound statement than it appears, in light of the fact that the increasing abstraction of art (away from humanity's core concerns, IMO) in the last half century or so has often resulted in an almost fetishistic concern with the materials of art.
Always liked LB's art. A deep posthumous thank you from here: in other "words": .
posted by kozad at 8:46 PM on May 31, 2010
A more profound statement than it appears, in light of the fact that the increasing abstraction of art (away from humanity's core concerns, IMO) in the last half century or so has often resulted in an almost fetishistic concern with the materials of art.
Always liked LB's art. A deep posthumous thank you from here: in other "words": .
posted by kozad at 8:46 PM on May 31, 2010
"I am not what I am; I am what I make with my hands."
The documentary from '08 is well worth watching; I was lucky to see it the same day I saw the retrospective at the Guggenheim. In her later years she definitely had the "oh hell, I'll say anything" attitude about her life and work and her other very strong opinions. But mostly, I just enjoyed seeing her work; beyond all of the symbolism about sexuality and feminine/masculine traits and childhood and dark psychological underpinnings, it was (and still is) compelling to stare at. I'm glad she got to live long enough to see all of the appreciation she garnered late in her life.
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posted by lisa g at 10:32 PM on May 31, 2010
The documentary from '08 is well worth watching; I was lucky to see it the same day I saw the retrospective at the Guggenheim. In her later years she definitely had the "oh hell, I'll say anything" attitude about her life and work and her other very strong opinions. But mostly, I just enjoyed seeing her work; beyond all of the symbolism about sexuality and feminine/masculine traits and childhood and dark psychological underpinnings, it was (and still is) compelling to stare at. I'm glad she got to live long enough to see all of the appreciation she garnered late in her life.
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posted by lisa g at 10:32 PM on May 31, 2010
She must be one of the last from original surrealist influences. It was Fernand Leger who suggested she devote herself to sculpture.
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posted by adamvasco at 4:05 AM on June 1, 2010
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posted by adamvasco at 4:05 AM on June 1, 2010
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posted by HandfulOfDust at 4:33 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by HandfulOfDust at 4:33 AM on June 1, 2010
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posted by mygothlaundry at 9:31 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:31 AM on June 1, 2010
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Those spiders had a big influence on me. There's plenty of interesting stuff on the Guardian website.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:49 AM on June 1, 2010
Those spiders had a big influence on me. There's plenty of interesting stuff on the Guardian website.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:49 AM on June 1, 2010
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posted by languagehat at 11:00 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by languagehat at 11:00 AM on June 1, 2010
Her exhibit at the ICA Boston was the first I was able to visit multiple times due to purchasing a membership. I doubt I'll ever get to know a spider as well as the large one I studied during that exhibit.
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posted by VulcanMike at 11:40 AM on June 1, 2010
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posted by VulcanMike at 11:40 AM on June 1, 2010
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posted by Benjamin Nushmutt at 4:00 PM on June 1, 2010
posted by Benjamin Nushmutt at 4:00 PM on June 1, 2010
I'll always think of her art when I recall my first and only trip to Paris. Images of my girl and I strolling past the Maman in le Jardin des Tuileries. The Bourgeois Retrospective at le Centre Pompidou. These are always the first thoughts that pop into my head.
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posted by BoatMeme at 4:17 PM on June 1, 2010
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posted by BoatMeme at 4:17 PM on June 1, 2010
Aw. I suppose dying at 98 is par for the course though.
nyxie and I took wedding pictures under Ottawa's Maman. Love those spiders.
posted by mendel at 4:26 PM on June 1, 2010
nyxie and I took wedding pictures under Ottawa's Maman. Love those spiders.
posted by mendel at 4:26 PM on June 1, 2010
One of my absolute favorite artists of all time. A titan of the art modern art world.
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posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 6:31 PM on June 1, 2010
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posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 6:31 PM on June 1, 2010
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I kept that Maplethorpe pic of her on my mirror for years. Her eyes say everything.
posted by Surfurrus at 8:55 PM on June 1, 2010
I kept that Maplethorpe pic of her on my mirror for years. Her eyes say everything.
posted by Surfurrus at 8:55 PM on June 1, 2010
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