Couple 2004

Louise Bourgeois created this sculpture, Couple, using fabric and thread. Bourgeois’s practice was closely tied to the cultural context in which she lived, including issues of gender, sexuality, and the body. Bourgeois was working in a male-dominated art world, and her frank and unapologetic exploration of female sexuality was a direct challenge to conservative norms. Couple presents two anonymous figures, their forms soft and vulnerable. The figures lack individual features, which depersonalizes the encounter and allows for a universal reading. Bourgeois’ work critiques not only the gendered power dynamics of mid-to-late twentieth century America, but also the institutions of art that historically excluded and marginalized women artists. Studying her notebooks, letters and early psychoanalytic writings, we can begin to understand more about the complex social history embedded in Bourgeois’s sculptures.