Maman (sculpture) - Ottawa, Ontario
Posted by: denben
N 45° 25.767 W 075° 41.841
18T E 445450 N 5030895
The sculpture of a giant spider, Louise Bourgeois's Maman, is erected on the square in front of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario.
Waymark Code: WMZDRX
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 10/26/2018
Views: 20
Maman (1999) is a bronze, stainless steel, and marble sculpture by the artist Louise Bourgeois. The sculpture, which depicts a spider, is among the world's largest, measuring over 30 ft high and over 33 ft wide (927 x 891 x 1024 cm). It includes a sac containing marble eggs and its abdomen and thorax are made of ribbed bronze.
The title is the familiar French word for Mother (akin to Mummy). The sculpture was created in 1999 by Bourgeois as a part of her inaugural commission of The Unilever Series (2000), in the Turbine Hall at London's Tate Modern. This original was created in steel, with an edition of six subsequent castings in bronze.
The National Gallery of Canada acquired the sculpture in 2004 for 3.2 million dollars. At that time, the price was deemed excessive by some critics, as it took around a third of the annual budget of the gallery.
Inspired by the artist's own mother, a tapestry restorer, "Maman" the giant egg-carrying spider, is a nurturing and protective symbol of fertility and motherhood, shelter and the home. With its monumental and terrifying scale, however, "Maman" also betrays this maternal trust to incite a mixture of fear and curiosity.
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