Spider by Bourgeois

Eva Bigonet
Art 297/Section 2
9/30/07
The Institute of Contemporary Art Assignment

After having contemplated the different artists and their work, I was drawn to Louise Bourgeois’ work. Bourgeois was born in Paris 1911, but has since many years lived in New York City. I believe she is still an active artist at 95! She is interesting because she lets the audience get a glimpse of the drama in her early life. She says, “All my work…all my subjects, have found their inspiration in my childhood. My childhood has never lost its magic, it has never lost its mystery, and it has never lost its drama" (Louise Bourgeois). Magic, mystery and drama are compelling, and just reading this sentence pulled me in. Sometimes artists and their expressions don’t make sense to me, but I felt rapport with Bourgeois.

As a girl she struggled with mixed feelings over her father’s extramarital affairs and her mother’s acceptance of them. I was intrigued by how her childhood drama has influenced her art. Among her themes are sexuality, body, trauma, anxiety, and family dynamics. These subjects are interesting to a psychology major, or at least it is to me. Many of her sculptures at ICA show body parts cut off or missing, symbolizing struggle and hardship in life.

As a child Bourgeois helped her parents in their tapestry restoration business. Therefore early on she began to acquire skills for her career, as she came to work with a variety of mediums for her sculptures, such as wood, fabric, rubber, bronze, steel and marble. Growing up, she had a close and warm relationship with her mother, but unfortunately her mother died when Bourgeois was twenty-one years old. For what seems to me a mysterious reason, Bourgeois saw the spider as homage to her mother, representing “maternal love, protection, fragility, and industriousness” (Bourgeois). In my opinion, one of her most impressive works at ICA is Spider (1996), an eleven-feet tall sculpture made of bronze, stainless steel and marble.

The spider is black, huge and rather creepy. I have always been afraid of spiders, especially big ones. Therefore, I am fascinated that Bourgeois sees the spider as a friendly, protective, motherly, and hard-working creature. I suppose, just like her mother, the spider weaves its tapestry (web) and is a diligent worker. Her view of the spider as a symbol of Mother is rather sweet, and it helps me question why I think spiders are disgusting?

The other thing that I am fascinated by is the sculpture’s size – eleven feet tall. I think what makes it successful, is its enormous size and its creepy look. The dichotomy between the spider’s intimidating appearance, (I mean it could easily be one of the creatures in a horror movie where giant insects have come to attack the earth), and the symbolic representation of motherly safekeeping, vulnerability, and diligence makes the sculpture especially effective.