Destruction of the father, reconstruction of the father : writings and interviews, 1923-1997

Abstract

edited by Marie-Laure Bernadac and Hans-Ulrich ObristEveryday you have to abandon your past or accept it and then if youcannot accept it, you become a sculptor.Since the age of twelve, the internationally renowned sculptor LouiseBourgeois has been writing and drawing;first a diary preciselyrecounting the everyday events of her family life, then notes andreflections. Destruction of the Father;the title comes fromthe name of a sculpture she did following the death of her husband in1973;contains both formal texts and what the artist callspen-thoughts: drawing-texts often connected to her drawings andsculptures, with stories or poems inscribed alongside the images.Writing is a means of expression that has gained increasing importancefor Bourgeois, particularly during periods of insomnia. The writing iscompulsive, but it can also be perfectly controlled, informed by herintellectual background, knowledge of art history, and sense ofliterary form (she has frequently published articles on artists,exhibitions, and art events). Bourgeois, a private woman withoutsecrets, has given numerous interviews to journalists, artists, andwriters, expressing her views on her oeuvre, revealing its hiddenmeanings, and relating the connection of certain works to the traumasof her childhood. This book collects both her writings and her spokenremarks on art, confirming the deep links between her work and herbiography and offering new insights into her creative process.

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