Loiuse Bourgeois,"Im a prisoner of my memories".
Why was so little known about the French-American Artist?
Art history can be limiting, in that, while it does give us some insight into the movements, the work, and the artists who have come before us, it ultimately presents a skewed impression of the art world. Why? Because those who were keeping a record of artistic developments, works of art and the artists who created them often seemingly 'forgot' certain groups or individual people due to their gender, ethnicity, or social standing, among many other things. Loiuse Bourgeois is a big example of an underrated artist, she was barely recognize until her elderly years.
Born in 1911, the French-American sculptor grew up in Choisy-le-Roi,
just outside Paris. At a young age, Bourgeois took on the role of
nurse to her mother, who succumbed to Spanish Flu after WWI,a rough
childhood left her with life-long psychological scars, memories that
forged the artist' unique and disturbing oeuvre of giant spider
sculptures and poured-plastic body parts.
A self-lacerating artist, Bourgeois took “fantastic pleasure in
breaking everything,” continually probing the themes of loneliness,
jealousy, anger, and fear throughout her career. Acknowledging the
past as a precondition of her present, the intensely autobiographical
artist poured her demons into her work. She subverted female
stereotypes, exploring a range of personal themes within the context
of feminist concerns, permeating the avant garde with her tenacious
spirit and self-reflective practice.
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