Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Louise Bourgeois dies aged 98

French-born artist Louise Bourgeois has died in New York aged 98. Bourgeois, who spent most of her life in the US and considered herself an American artist, embodied the Freudian semiologist's dream: her works almost invariably were references to the complexities of childhood experiences and traumas and bore titles to match. Her trademark giant spiders, which earned her the nickname 'Spiderwoman', were usually titled 'Maman' (i.e. 'mother').

 Image source

Throughout her career, Bourgeois wove into her themes both the sensual and violent aspects of sexuality; the amalgam of menace, pain and raw physicality captivated critics and spectators alike, all the more because of the tempting associations between Bourgeois's art and childhood (sources: the Guardian and Tate Modern).

 'Fillette' (i.e. ' little girl'), 1968. Image source


Louise Bourgeois in her studio, ca. 1946. Image source.

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