Louise Bourgeois

Artist: Louise Bourgeois

Title:  Giant Spider

Media: Bronze, Stainless Steel and Marble

Dimensions: 365 x 351 x 403 in

Date: 1999

Biography info:

Louise Bourgeois was born in Paris in 1911 and passed on May 2010. She studied art at many schools in Paris. At the age of 27, she moved to the New York, where she studied at the Art Students League. Her early works were paintings and engravings, but byt the 1940s she focused on sculptures. She used varying types of materials such as wood, rubber, bronze, and stone.

Statement on the work: “My childhood has never lost its magic, it has never lost its mystery, and it has never lost its drama.”

Background info on the work:

Bourgeois’ works became larger and more referential to what became the dominant theme of her work: her childhood. The spider is representing motherhood. Spiders are very maternal, they protect their young, and Bourgeois sees them as affectionate to their offspring.

Connects to theme and why I chose it:

I chose this sculpture because it is very different from the others I have chosen to display. Not everyone will look at a spider and automatically think of “love” but the artist does, an upon knowing that spiders are representing motherhood in her work, the viewer can understand why work is included. The love between a mother and a child is immeasurable and that is why I wanted to include this sculpture.