In her early youth, the artist and sculptor Louise Bourgeois could well have become a patient of Dr. Sigmund Freud. But who knows how the life of this woman would be if the author of the book "The Psychology of the Unconscious" would deal with her psychological problems. After all, it was children's psychological trauma that influenced the entire creative life of Louise.
"All happy families are equally happy, and the unhappy are unhappy in their own way," said Leo Tolstoy.
It would seem that Louise Bourgeois was born in a quite wealthy French family, which was engaged in the restoration of tapestries, but, as you know, each person has its own skeletons in the closet. The Bourgeois family also had them.
All the problems come from childhood
The fact is that Louise's father had an intimate relationship with a governess named Sandy after returning from the war. But, of course, in society, the couple played the role of ideal "newlyweds". The girl hated him for it and cherished the dream to send an mail to the other world.
Oil in the fire and the fact that Louise's father was characterized by a very despotic character and ironically treated her dream of becoming an artist. But my mother supported in all endeavors. Therefore, it is only natural that after her death, Louise Bourgeois plunged into a severe depression.
Louise Bourgeois and her most significant works
All of Louise's work is imbued with the images of her mother, father and the interiors of the house where the family tragedy took place. Judge for yourself.
Here, for example, is the work "Blind, the blind leader" of 1947, which refers us to the work of Peter Bruegel "The Parable of the Blind". The work consists of two dozen wooden boards fixed with a bridge. This work of Louise Bourgeois again immerses us in the childhood of the artist, when she sat under the table and was afraid to come out of there, so as not to see the quarrels between father and mother.
Louise has crashed into his memory and another fact. Her father kept many chairs in the attic, which he hung from the ceiling. This memory was embodied in her installation "Dangerous Aisle", dedicated to different periods in her life. However, here you can see not only hanging chairs. There's a desk, a swing that refers us to Louise's youngest age, sculptures of two people making love, and even an electric chair that symbolizes retribution. Very frightening looks the word "Cage" (Shuazi), depicting a copy of the mansion, where Louise lived as a child. A guillotine above the house says goodbye to a hard past life.
Teach better than your spiders!
And of course, the sculptor Louise Bourgeois' calling card was a series of works on spiders. The most large-scale work, nine (!) meters high, is called "Mother" and is dedicated to Louise's mother, whose wisdom, patience and ability to create tapestries was associated with the wisdom and weaving skills of a spider. Louise Bourgeois, whose spiders look so impressive, was able to completely change the perception of these creatures as something negative.
A separate line in the work of Louise are works that explore the themes of sexuality. These include Inside and Outside, which depicts a naked male figure surrounded by mirrors, Girl, a male organ on the butcher's hook, and Blooming Janus.
Some of the people who are not particularly sophisticated in their art and are familiar with these works may have the impression that Louise Bourgeois has sublimated her sexual energy into her work all her life. However, this is not the case. Louise Bourgeois has been happily married to the director of the Museum of Primeval Art, Robert Goldwater, for many years. Together they raised three children, one of whom was adopted by a couple.
By the way, the works of Louise Bourgeois can be seen not only in museums. The gallery of the French hotel Villa La Coste, consisting of 28 villas, contains works by artists of contemporary art, including Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, Franz Vesta, and many other masters.
Here you can not only enjoy the art but also admire the interiors of the Villa La Coste, which is proud of its Grand Salon, library and bar. Some of the hotel's interesting interiors were designed by André Fu, a designer from Hong Kong. But the greatest admiration of the guests, of course, are the views outside the window: lavender fields, forests, olive groves. And, of course, in one of the parks, you can see Spider Louise Bourgeois.