Louise Bourgeois, Maquette for Facets to the Sun, 1978, assembled and screwed wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.24
Howard Kaplan
Writer
June 1, 2010
American artist Louise Bourgeois died on Monday, May 31, at the age of ninety-eight. Born in France to parents who made their living repairing tapestries, she moved to New York City in 1938 and lived and worked there for the rest of her life. She gained attention for her provocative artworks late in life and is often most recognized for her giant spider sculptures known as Maman. The Maquette for Facets to the Sun is a small piece from 1978 in the collection of American Art. Here Bourgeois has created the model for a larger work of painted steel that explores the natural world. The wooden pieces have all turned to face the same direction, pulled (like the artist's need to create) by a force that's greater than themselves.
