Louise Bourgeois Destruction of the Father / Reconstruction of the Father: Writings and Interviews, 1923-1997
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Sculpture
Louise Bourgeois Destruction of the Father / Reconstruction of the Father: Writings and Interviews, 1923-1997 Details
From Library Journal This collection of writings and statements by sculptor Bourgeois includes letters, journal entries, poetry, and interviews with the artist spanning the entire period from her student days to just last year. The impression created is one of lifelong preoccupation with a set of personal concerns that, as curator Bernadac says in the introduction, reflect "the fundamental dichotomy between professional control and spontaneity, between the conscious and the unconscious, between the expression that is structured, assembled, and thought through, and the expression that is presented raw, as the product of an urgent impulse." Readers not already familiar with Bourgeois's work will appreciate the small photographs of sculptures, drawings, and prints included. Recommended for scholarly and specialized collections.?Kathryn Wekselman, Univ. of Cincinnati Lib.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more Review "Everything she says is interesting, and much of it is funny. One reads through the book with a desire to turn down every second page or at least make asterisks in the margin... `Art comes from the inability to seduce. I am unable to make myself loved... I am the indefatigable seducer.'" -- Katherine Govier, Globe & Mail (Toronto), August 1, 1998 Read more See all Editorial Reviews
Reviews
When I want to find out information about an artist I prefer to read their own thoughts about their life and art rather than reading critical essays about them by Art Historians and other experts. In this respect, 'Destruction of the Father / Reconstruction of the Father' is a very important anthology of writings by Louise Bourgeois that also includes interviews the artist gave over a period of seven decades.The thing I like most about the book is that it is an eclectic collection that includes personal correspondence, autobiographical fragments, published artist statements and transcripts of interviews. Aside from the usual assortment of fully referenced, quotable extracts that would be very useful for those studying the work of this brilliant artist, I was most excited to discover reproductions in the book of a selection of little known fine-press publications written and illustrated by Bourgeois in the late 1940s. It was wonderful to see the series of grim parable sequences written and illustrated by Bourgeois reprinted alongside her later commentary about the texts.I thoroughly recommend this book as essential reading for any Louise Bourgeois enthusiast. I, for one, am very pleased to own a copy.