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Artist or Maker: LOUISE BOURGEOIS
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Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist
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Notes: By the 1960s Louise Bourgeois' work moved away from wooden sculptures and towards the use of new media such as bronze, marble and rubber. At this time, Bourgeois also became associated with the Feminist Movement and her work became a constant exploration of themes including fetishism, feminism and femininity. Her childhood memories and her relationship with her parents continued to retain its importance in her work as well.
In her work entitled Germinal which was conceived in 1967 one can detect references to the Freudian definition of ‘fetishism'. In his writings, Freud defined fetish ‘as a substitute for the woman's (mother's) phallus which the little boy once believed in and does not wish to forego.'The womb-like base of the sculpture alludes to the figure of the mother, whilst the phallic forms in the upper half refer to fetish itself.The texture and shine given off by the bronze is also significant ‘as the material support of the phallic forms, as in Germinal 1967..., we find ourselves thinking of the Freudian patient's desire for "shine" or "glanz"'. (R. Krauss, Louise Bourgeois,ed. Francis Morris,Tate Publishing 2007, London p. 145)
