Femme Maison 1947

Louise Bourgeois made "Femme Maison" with ink and pencil, and you can just feel the rawness of that process. It's like she's thinking right onto the page, isn't it? There's a vulnerability in the sketchiness, the way lines are left unfinished, almost like she's inviting us into her thought process. Look at how the heavy, dark marks of ink define the house structure, contrasting with the delicate pencil lines that form the woman's body. The house becomes a shell, a cage almost, but also a source of protection. I find myself drawn to the thick, almost brutal strokes that create the swirling lines, which feel like both hair and architectural support. Bourgeois is making a statement about the female form and the domestic space; she is blurring the lines between safety and confinement. Like with Eva Hesse, the ambiguity is the point; there is no right or wrong answer.