Enter the ‘femme maison’ with Frances Cannon
Melbourne queer artist and Instagrammer @frances_cannon tells us how Louise Bourgeois’ maternal work reaches through time to touch the feminists of today.
No artist has impacted me, both in my personal life and in my work, as much as Louise Bourgeois. The first time I saw a Bourgeois’ work in real life (and not on the internet) was such a visceral and emotional experience. I was in Paris and had just said goodbye to my mum after spending a beautiful, dreamlike, week together in a place we had both always wanted to visit. My mum was headed back to Thailand and I knew I wouldn’t see her for another eight months.
Feeling fragile, I walked into the exhibition all about ‘femme maison’ (Women House — Monnaie de Paris). The show featured women artists whose work focused on ideas of the domestic woman, pulling it apart and piecing it back together in a feminist context. I had read that there were some of Bourgeois’ pieces included so I was very excited when I came across a few of her paintings but the biggest surprise was around the corner. Walking towards the final room of the exhibition and into a large golden room filled with art-deco details — every inch of the room was extravagant — and in the centre stood Bourgeois’ Spider 1994. The looming metal spider filled the centre of the room. Her presence was magnetic, and I welled up with tears at the sight of her. This work, as with many of her spider sculptures, is about Bourgeois’ complex relationship with her mother. I started crying, spending a few hours in the presence of this metal mother-figure, as I grieved saying goodbye to my own mother. It was cathartic. Bourgeois’ work always evokes such emotion within me — something about the way she uses her materials, and the topics she chooses to discuss touches a deep part of me.
When visiting the NGA this past September, I stumbled upon more of Bourgeois’ work quite accidentally. I was wandering through American Masters, and suddenly — there she was! C.O.Y.O.T.E. (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) 1941–1948. A wooden sculpture with multiple ‘legs’ painted a beautiful peachy pink. As seems to be the pattern, I started weeping as soon as I came across this work. C.O.Y.O.T.E. speaks on Bourgeois’ passion for rights for sex workers, which is something very dear to my heart, and humanity’s ability to find support and strength in numbers. While at the NGA I had a lively discussion with some other admirers of Bourgeois’ work and I felt a deep connection, both with the work, as well as the women I was talking to. Bourgeois has a magic way of connecting women through her work which is something that provides me with endless inspiration.
Though Bourgeois never explicitly classified herself as a feminist artist, so much of her work speaks to important feminist issues, as well as the complexities of being a woman. These are subjects that I regularly address in my own work. My work has become well-known for being about the body and the self, as a woman wandering through this patriarchal world. I am very proud of my feminism and strive to address what’s going on in the world through my work. I am A-OK with being labeled a ‘feminist artist’. I try as hard as I can to use my online platform to not only speak on my own experience as a queer, fat woman, but also to raise the voices of other marginalized folk.
I use my own experiences and emotions to create pieces which I hope will connect with other women. Like Bourgeois, my own life is my greatest source of inspiration as I am the only expert on the matter. My work acts as a diary, a personal log of experiences through imagery and text. Bourgeois’ pieces perform a similar dance, documenting moments in her life, and using art as an outlet to sort through her memories, both good and bad.
I look up to artists like Louise Bourgeois for paving the way for women artists to unapologetically explore their womanhood, emotions, hurt and anger, and their bodies. Bourgeois will always be a major inspiration to me, and if you get the chance to see her work in person — I guarantee that you will learn something about yourself and your womanhood and you will walk away a little stronger and a little softer.
