Disembodied Hands 1990

Curator: Louise Bourgeois's "Disembodied Hands," made of marble in 1990, presents a stark image. The material and the method of production are deeply significant. Editor: These marble hands emerging from a rough block feel… trapped. What’s the story behind using these specific materials and techniques? Curator: The choice of marble, a traditional material often associated with classical sculpture and notions of permanence, is deliberately disrupted. Bourgeois leaves much of the stone unpolished, revealing the labor involved in its creation. How does that contrast speak to you? Editor: It’s like she's intentionally showing us the 'making of' - almost demystifying the artistic process, and contrasting ideas of refinement. Do the hands themselves signify this labor and tension as well? Curator: Precisely! These aren't idealized hands. They are truncated, raw at the cut-off point. The dismemberment removes their ability to perform and emphasizes their state of being acted upon. How do you think this removal of function shifts our interpretation? Editor: By not being "whole," we don’t see them as simply functional; they evoke themes of fragility, maybe even helplessness. So, it's not just about WHAT she sculpted but also HOW and WITH WHAT, to show us her ideas about societal structures. Curator: Yes, and remember that Bourgeois often connected her art to personal experiences and trauma. So how might the materiality itself-- the cold, hard stone – mirror or evoke such emotional states or contexts? Editor: Seeing the sculpture through the lens of labor and the artist’s process, highlights how the social and the personal intersect within the artwork, adding depth and resonance to what otherwise might be merely a beautiful form. Thanks for expanding my perspective on process and material. Curator: And you've helped clarify the potency of its symbolism. By seeing this in relationship to labour, context and execution, the art becomes a site for resistance to traditional constraints and assumptions about what "art" is, too.