Louise Bourgeoise - ‘The Woven Child’ Exhibition

Though, I was unsure if it would be relevant to my project when I booked my tickets to the exhibition, I was very happy to find that this wasn’t the case at all! As someone who struggles with knowing how to turn my ideas/thoughts into textiles outcomes/pieces. There was a great range of scales and types of textiles work that I found very expansive for my thinking and I came out of the exhibition very inspired, and ready to continue with the evolving threads of my ideas. I spent about 2 hours in the exhibition, I went around once and then again, this time stoping and sketching pieces that I found relevant, exciting or inspiring. Consequently, i had lots of time with Bourgeoise’s work and was able to think more about how I might develop my work from its current stage. It made me realise though that my textiles could include more portraiture, and studies of the body. In fine art this is something that I excel in, and thus it seems a sensible development to bring wider portraits or figures into my current project.

The colour palette throughout the exhibiton well reflected the work I’ve made up to this stage, and I included these images for that reason. Though the main reason for including these installation pieces is how it can connote a larger body in the space while remaining conceptual: I can visualise the body’s silhouette moving up from the legs in the middle image, and the head on the image to the left. I like how Bourgeoisie can suggest so much form through the absence of the majority of the body. The mix of forms she explores is of interest to me too - the most relevant to my current project is the piece to the right: the slumped figure. It’s hunched and rounded posture felt reminiscent of either a child or elderly body; its minimal but apply to convey poignant emotion, melancholic, hopeless and resigned. Francis’ Bacon’s Piece entitled - “Study for Portrait of P.L No.1” (1957) as the muted fleshy-white colours and form of the figure both capture a crumpled emotional state that I find enthrallingly visceral.

(‘Spider’ - 2007)

The mix of soft and harsh materials is something that Bourgeoise excels in, and is something that I am interesting in exploring in my work. It is well known that loser people rely on lots of procedures or items that help with their health or accessibility needs (eg hearing aids, canes, zimmer-frames, bionic limbs or screws, glasses etc). Finding a textural balance between this juxtaposition of hard and soft is something that I should consider in more depth. (I really want to make a collage of an old woman using Bourgeoise’s spiders as a zimmer-frame, comedy can definitely come into my project too!) On a more serious note though, I’m going to consider going to the metal workshop and creating samples that are an amalgam of the work Ive created so far (knit and metalwork).

(‘The Reticent Child’, 2003 - Fabric, marble, stainless steel, aluminium)

The theme of body metamorphosis is undoubtedly challenged by Bourgeois throughout the exhibition, and this is no more clear than the piece above. It portrays motherhood from a subversive perspective: its raw and surgical with the inclusion of mirrors and stainless steel. Consequently, the piece feels more biological and disconnected from the often idyllic, idealised perspectives that are socially acceptable. I like the uncomfortable manner in which she approaches the changing of the body in this piece: the viewer is placed as a voyeur, inspecting the nudes in front of a mirror that shows the nude and the viewer simultaneously. It blends the experience between the art and the viewer, thus creating a more personal connection that evokes some amount of discomfort. Though returning to her presentation of the body, the use of the pinkish toned material, creates a fleshy artificial colour that contrasts with the harshness of the metal surrounding it; then the use of the netting (on the belly of the middle standing nude) creates an unconventionally realistic, grotesque body. It contrasts with the seeming strength of the other nudes: the belly suddenly appears malleable and fragile. For these reasons, this creation has placed itself in my mind as a piece to remember, as an embodiment of Bourgeois wider collection of nudes.

The mix of metal and textile, is something that I will take from Bourgeois’ piece to use in my own project: in fact the overall colour palette is something that I am keen to experiment with. Older individuals are connected with a distinct stereotypical colour palette and I believe the colours used in this piece would be cohesive with that. Furthermore, the connection of anatomical bodies and biological/surgical themes are something that I will continue with: looking at more biological sketches of the older body is somewhere to start. Making my own models of the body is something that I could try easily, perhaps on a smaller scale (perhaps with felting techniques). This would help me synthesise the research I have started on the anatomy (and deterioration) of the elderly body, and my artistic references.

( Untitled - 1996, Suspended cattle bones and nightclothes)

This piece is right at the opening of the exhibition, and on reflection, after experiencing the whole exhibition I would say that it was the piece that I took the most inspiration from. It’s a more conceptual piece that juxtaposes the harshness of cattle bones with the delicate materials/form of nightgowns. I found this piece so impactful , because in many ways it mimics the research that I had done on the deterioration of the body. The reduction of the elderly to their deteriorating bodies feels comparable to the reduction of people to a singular bone in this picture. It’s a reminder of the transience of humanity and the fragility of our bodies. While nightgowns on their own may connote fragility, the inclusion of the bones, exacerbates the feeling of frailty and adds an almost existential air to the overall installation. I want to use this piece for inspiration as I continue exploring the metamorphosis and deterioration of the body as it ages, and I might try draping my grandmothers clothes in a similar fashion, using harsh materials or objects to represent a human. The changes to the body entering into elderly living are visceral and unappealing, thus contrasting the gritty reality of the body’s breakdown with soft materials, like knitwear or silks is something I should consider moving forward.

Ben Cuevas - Anatomical Knit Hood Series

“They reveal that which is normally concealed while commingling notions of art, craft, fashion and design. The work is intended to be at once beautiful and grotesque, disturbing yet comforting, endearingly crafted yet fetishistically sinister, simultaneously serving as a meditation on the intricacies of the human form in all its multi-layered complexities.” - Ben Cuevas on “The Anatomical Knit-Hood Series (2011) ”. (https://laughingsquid.com/the-anatomical-knit-hood-series-knitted-human-anatomy-sculptures/)

The collection created by Cuevas involves 5 knitwear pieces that each mimic a later of human anatomy: skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, subcutaneous fat and epidemis. As headpieces, I love the irony of their purpose: concealing the face by revealing what every person looks like below the surface. This concept is subversive and an interesting reaction to the function of knitwear headpieces which are primarily associated with warmth and comfort. Furthermore beyond their function, each piece is interesting in its own right with varied textures and techniques (this is practically clear with the subcutaneous fat layer). THe concept of wearing a face of fat is so deeply conflicts with modern fashion in which fat is demonised and reduced.

It is arguable that the collection becomes more sinister as it progresses, despite the more conventional ‘scary’ skeletal headpiece opening the series. Perhaps, as the forms the pieces represent become closer to what is considered anthropomorphic we experience the “Uncanny Valley” effect. Certainly I feel this way about the ‘surface’ piece: I find it profoundly uncomfortable to look at. Yet, I feel completely differently bout the ‘skeletal’ piece; I love the detail, sharpness and intensity that is achieved despite the limitations of the medium (as a softer and more fluid material). While this collection is intended as a performance piece, I would choose to wear some of the pieces if given the option. Cuevas work has certainly challenged my understanding of head accessories and moving forward I will consider how I too can explore the form of the body while simultaneously concealing it.

Research 3a

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