Maman in the Park
Yesterday as I was walking through the Tuilleries, I spied some heavy duty cranes in the distance (the kind you build skyscrapers with). That seemed odd and out of character for the gardens but much work was being done to get the grounds ready for spring. As I got closer, more than just cranes appeared….
there was a man in a cherry picker and some knarly looking appendages that he was attaching to some central core. The scary thing about all of this is that I knew exactly what he was putting together because oddly enough it just happens to be one of my favorite sculptures–and I really can’t tell you why!
He and about a dozen other men were installing, Maman by Louise Bourgeois
a giant spider made of bronze, stainless steel and marble. It measures over 30 feet high and is the most ambitious of this woman’s career spanning over 60 years. Born in Paris in 1911, her life, like so many other gifted, creative individuals was riddled with difficulties from an early age and her art has been a way to deal with some painful childhood memories. The amazing thing for me is that if she is 96 today, this work, done in 1999 was done in her 87th year. Can that be possible? I want to be that vibrant and alive when I am that old. One can only hope!! There are several casts of this particular piece and I have seen it in front of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain and I think this one may have just left the Tate Modern where she had an exhibit ending in January of 2008. Amazing!
I went back today to see if it had been completed and I wasn’t disappointed.
I love how against the bare trees it blends in and you could easily miss it depending on what angle you come across it. When the trees bloom it will probably jump right out at you. Well, let’s hope not really, because that would just be bad and give everyone nightmares.
Additional Information: Louise Borgeois
Tags: , b5media, france, Louise Borgeoise, Maman, paris, the paris traveler, travel, travel blog
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POSTED IN: Art & Art Galleries
4 opinions for Maman in the Park
Holidays In 360
Feb 29, 2008 at 9:46 am
What an amazing looking structure. I love to see creative pieces like this in Marbella there is a arch you drive through which is made out of the words Marbella.
Leanne
Feb 29, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Don’t you just love this sculpture. We have a version of it here in Ottawa and I always feel a weird attachment to it (maybe it’s a mom thing!) The boys just love to stand under her and admire everythihng about her. I’m sure though that beeing in her proximity in the gardens is a bit of a different experience than in our fair city. Keep us posted on what’s going on in your beautiful city.
Walking out on a Saturday « Chez Schmanz en France!
Mar 3, 2008 at 8:16 pm
[…] had read about Maman a few days earlier in The Paris Traveler blog. Anyone who knows me knows better than to think I had information like the name of a statue tucked […]
b5media - Nature in all Her Glory at b5media
Mar 7, 2008 at 6:13 am
[…] Paris Traveler - Nature and art have always been closely intertwined, and Kim’s post Maman in the Park, shows us one example. In this case it’s the beautiful gardens of the Tuilleries,and a […]
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