Louise Bourgeois Destruction of the Father / Reconstruction of the Father: Writings and Interviews, 1923-1997 [Paperback]

Louise Bourgeois (Author), Marie-Laure Bernadac (Editor), Hans-Ulrich Obrist (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 1998

edited by Marie-Laure Bernadac and Hans-Ulrich Obrist"Everyday 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 calls"pen-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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; First U.S. Edition edition (May 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262522462
• ISBN-13: 978-0262522465
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Louise Bourgeois-DIARIES, February 21, 2006

By 

John J. Shields "teacher" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Louise Bourgeois Destruction of the Father / Reconstruction of the Father: Writings and Interviews, 1923-1997 (Paperback)

The artist's diaries reveal so much about her fascinating creativity. It is very helful to read her comments over the decades as wintess and participant to the changing art world. The Walters Art Museum is presently exhibiting 39 of her works in "dialogue" with works from our permananet collection of Ancient, Medieval and Renaissanc art through May 21st, 2006. If you are in Baltimore, please take advantage of this amazing opportunity. The text of the diaries (that covers over 60 years)was very helpful to both staff and docents/guides in preparing for our tours. I recomemnd this text to all students and professors of contremporary art.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on a very fascinating woman!, April 18, 2008

By 

volcanologist (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Louise Bourgeois Destruction of the Father / Reconstruction of the Father: Writings and Interviews, 1923-1997 (Paperback)

I saw a film and the works of Louise Bourgeois at the Tate Modern in London while I was on vacation. She was a fascinating woman! Brutally honest with raw insight on her life, emotions, and works! Fascinating! This is a great book showing the many sides of this artist!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Louise Bourgeois - Writing and Interviews, May 12, 2011

By 

Bronwyn Lloyd - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Louise Bourgeois Destruction of the Father / Reconstruction of the Father: Writings and Interviews, 1923-1997 (Paperback)

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.