A work of art doesn't have to be explained. If you do not have any feeling about this, I cannot explain it to you. If this doesn't touch you, I have failed.
Louise BourgeoisRead
I know that when I finish a drawing, my anxiety level decreases. The realistic drawings are a way of pinning down an idea. I don't want to loose it. With the abstract drawings, when I'm feeling loose, I can slip into the unconscious.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art serves as a therapeutic outlet, helping to manage anxiety and express subconscious thoughts.
In this quote, Louise Bourgeois expresses how art, through both realistic and abstract forms, helps her cope with anxiety. Realistic drawings allow her to capture and secure her ideas, while abstract art offers her a way to explore and express feelings that may not be readily accessible, providing a balance between control and freedom in her creative process.
Themes
ArtAnxietyExpressionCreativityRealisticAbstractSubconscious
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about stress relief techniques, one might quote Bourgeois to illustrate the therapeutic nature of art.
More from Louise Bourgeois
All quotes βClothing is . . . an exercise in memory. It makes me explore the past: how did I feel when I wore that. They are like signposts in the search for the past.
Louise BourgeoisRead
Space is something that you have to define. Otherwise, it is like anxiety, which is too vague. A fear is something specific. I like claustrophobic spaces, because at least then you know your limits.
Louise BourgeoisRead
It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.
Louise BourgeoisRead
I always had the fear of being separated and abandoned. The sewing is my attempt to keep things together and make things whole.
Louise BourgeoisRead
It is not a torment to be an artist. It is a privilege.
Louise BourgeoisRead
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Without doubt I praise the wild excellence.
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Art's task is to save the soul of mankind.. anything less is a dithering while Rome burns.
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I was honoured when they asked me to appear at the president's birthday rally in Madison Square Garden. There was like a hush over the whole place when I came on to sing 'Happy Birthday,' like if I had been wearing a slip, I would have thought it was showing or something. I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, what if no sound comes out!'
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As a loyal believer in the Auteur Theory I first felt editing was but the logical consequence of the way in which one shoots. But, what I learned is that it is actually another writing.
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What I remember when I started to write was how I couldn't wait to get up in the morning to get to my characters.
Judy BlumeRead
The aim of all commentary on art now should be to make works of art - and, by analogy, our own experience - more, rather than less, real to us. The function of criticism should be to show how it is what it is, even that it is what it is, rather than to show what it means.
Susan SontagRead