Woman's Art Inc.

Old City Publishing, Inc.

Louise Bourgeois's Femmes-Maisons: Confronting Lacan

Author(s): Julie Nicoletta
Source: Woman's Art Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Autumn, 1992 - Winter, 1993), pp. 21-26
Published by: Woman's Art Inc.
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 P0RTRAITS
At firstglance, Louise fact,Bourgeoisrecently acknowl-
Bourgeois's Femmes-
Maisons,a series of four
36" x 14" ink or oil and ink on
LOUISE edged thatshe knew Lacan and
long had an interestin his theo-
ries. However,her approaches

BOURGEOIS'S
linenpaintings,fillus withpuz- to the feminineand the uncon-
zlement. They depict nude scious are quite differentfrom
females,whoseheads and torsos his. She has expressedher dis-
are replaced by houses. These approvalof the psychoanalyst by
imageswere createdconcurrent-
ly between 1945 and 1947, at a
timeof crucialpersonaland pro-
fessionalgrowthforthe artistas
FEMMES- calling him a guerisseur-a
quack doctor.4
In the 1940s and 1950s Lacan
formulated his ideas concerning
well as forNew YorkCity'sart
community.JerryGorovoyand
Deborah Wye, both of whom
MAISONS human language, studyingits
structureas a means to under-
stand the unconscious. For
have writtenon the artist,have Lacan the patriarchal framework
been quick to relateBourgeois's of languageprovidesthe key to
unique and intimate worksto the Lacan
Confronting sexual difference. Language
artist'stroubledchildhood. The divides male fromfemale,plac-
artistherselfhas allowed, even ing the male in a dominantposi-
promoted,a Freudianpsychobi- ByJulieNicoletta
tion. Furthermore, languageis
ographic interpretationof her composedof signifiers thatfunc-
work. However, that avenue tionin termsoffigures ofspeech,
fails to explore the parallel primarily metaphorand metony-
themesfoundin Bourgeois'sartand in thewritings of French my. Lacan sees metaphor(a figureof speech in whichone
psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. Such a comparisonnot only object is likenedto anotherby speakingof it as if it were the
allows a Lacanian readingof Bourgeois,but it also demon- other)as a privileged, masculinefunction, and metonymy (the
strateshowherworkcritiquesLacan. naming of a thingby substituting one of its attributes forthe
Bourgeoisclaims thatthe underlyingmotivesforher art thingitself)as divisiveand suggestiveof femininity, which
stem fromher earlyyearsin France,where she was born in thereforepreventsclearcommunication.5 In fact,Lacan convo-
1911. As a younggirlshe was caughtbetween"a nurturing, lutedhis ownwriting style-i.e.,made it feminine-inorderto
calm,and clear-thinking mother...anda powerful, volatile,and this
emphasize problem.6
anxiety-causing father."'Paul Gardner,MarshaPels, and oth- Bourgeoisstruggles withthe same questionsas Lacan, but
ershavefocusedon theaffairthatherfatherhad withherlive- she transforms verbal examples into visual ones; and more
in Englishtutor,an affairthatLouise's motherknewof and importantly, she reachesdifferent conclusions.As withLacan,
accepted in order to keep the familytogether. Bourgeois Bourgeois'simpenetrability was noted early. In a 1979 inter-
recalledthat"she [hertutor]rode in the coupe withhim [her view,Bourgeoisrecalledthatafterviewingherfirst one-woman
father],in the frontseat. Mama and I sat in back. I hated showat thePeridotGalleryin 1946,MarcelDuchampclaimed
her!"2 In recentyears,Bourgeoishas been quite vocal about he could notunderstand herworkand dislikedit foritslackof
thisperiodin her life,attributing to it feelingsof anxietyand puns and excessive emotional content.7It is hardlycoinciden-
rage that continue to affectherand influence her art.3 tal that and
Bourgeois'spaintings drawingsof the 1940s often
The storyof thisaffair-whethertrueor apocryphal-has parallel the earlystudiesof Lacan. Both knewmanyof the
takenon the aura of myth. No one interestedin Bourgeois's same membersof Surrealistcirclesin Francein the 1930s and
workhas looked beyondthisFreudianidea of a traumatized laterin New YorkCity.8
childhood to see what other factors may have inspired Bourgeois'srelationship to the Surrealists, aside fromsimi-
Bourgeois. Her openness about her past and insistence thatit laritiesin her visualrepresentations, yet be examinedin
has to
is thesourceofherartistic ideas seem,in someways,to be not depth. The Surrealists' interestin theworkof Freud and psy-
onlyavowalsof thismythbut also meansto circumvent other choanalysis, as seen in theirconcentration on theomnipotence
issuesin herart. of the dream and power of the unconsciousas well as their
However,the Femmes-Maisonsbeg interpretations beyond attraction to non-Western cultureand thedesireto escape the
that of personal experience. In early images Bourgeois inhibitions of society,is linkedto Bourgeois'sown interestin
exploresnotonlyher ownhistory but also issuesof femininity, personalpsychologyand the influenceof childhoodon adult
psychoanalysis, and communication. Throughouther career actions.' Bourgeois'sworkoftendrawson the unconscious,
she has presented ambiguities of gender identity,often producingstartlingdreamlikeimages thatcoincide withthe
througha denialof individuality. Throughtheduplicity ofthe Surrealistaesthetic.
Femmes-Maisons,the artistexploresproblemsof genderdif- Althoughshe developedher own distinctstyle,Bourgeois,
ferentiation, when a womanis forcedto findher in fact,had a close relationship
particularly to thisgroup. Whilea student
own identityin termsof a man. But perhapsthe mostover- in Parisduringthe 1930s,she livedin Isadora Duncan'shouse,
lookedmatterin Bourgeois'sworkis thedilemmaofcommuni- above the gallerythatservedin 1936 as the site of "Gradiva,"
cation. The question is twofold;it deals not onlywiththe Andr6 Breton's firstSurrealistexhibition.10This show dis-
themeofcommunication withina workofartbut also withthe playeda varietyof objects-mathematical,primitive, natural,
of
difficulty communicating with the viewer. It is this issue found,irrational,readymade,and so forth-whichwere dis-
thatbringsLouise Bourgeoisand JacquesLacan together.In playedout of contextand in unusualcombinations in orderto
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 stretchthelimitsofknowledge."CertainlyBourgeoissaw and Nevertheless,Bourgeoisfocuseson issues thatalso con-
was influencedby thisjuxtapositionof curious and normal cernedLacan; herpaintings and drawingsofthe 1940sseem to
everyday objects. parallelthose early studies in whichhe began to explorethe
In June1945 at New York'sNorlyst Gallery,Bourgeois,with structureof languageas a means of explainingsexualdiffer-
thehelpofDuchamp,organized"DocumentsFrance,1940-44: ence. Femininity is the area where Bourgeoisdeviatesmost
Art-Literature-Press of the French Underground"to inform strongly fromLacan. It is also themostpervasivethemein her
theAmericanpublicand drawsympathy forthe Frenchavant- art,appearingin paintingsand sculpturethatcombinegenders
garde. Works included anti-Nazi press,poetryby Paul Eluard or questionacceptedmodesofcommunication. Althoughboth
and Max Jacob,prosebyJean-PaulSartre,GertrudeStein,and Bourgeois and Lacan are concernedwithissues of gender,
AndreGide,and artrangingfromBonnardto Picasso. Despite Lacan sees sexualdifference as groundedin a worldin which
this collaboration and her friendshipswith many of the the phallusis the transcendental signifier.Not onlydoes the
Surrealists,Bourgeoisthought them"lordlyand pontifical."'12 phallus divide the male from the female, it also dividesthereal
The Surrealists'interestin psychoanalysis is probablywhat fromthe imaginary. On the otherhand, Bourgeois seems
attractedLacan to theircirclein the 1930s. He publishedtwo moreinterested in overcoming patriarchal dominancethrough
articlesin the Surrealist journalMinotaure,one on a case con- the combination ofthesexesand theundermining oflanguage,
cerning women hysterics.'"These studiesgreatlyinterested Lacan's symbolicorder.
the Surrealists; in fact,Paul Eluard laterpublishedthe "invol- These issues can be examined best by focusing on
untarypoetry"of an erotomaniacwoman whom Lacan had Bourgeois'sartof the 1940s,especiallyher Femmes-Maisons,
examined. The idea of the woman hystericintriguedthe whichexploretwo majorLacanianthemes: sexualdifference,
Surrealists as muchas it did Lacan. Beingcloserto natureand in termsofwoman'srolein society,and problemsofcommuni-
the "uncivilized,"women could instinctively tap into natural cation. However,these universalconcernsneverlose their
drives. For the Surrealists, womanrepresented the activesex- emotionalimpactbecause of the personalfeelingthatcomes
ual forcein theworldand in man'screativelife. She servedas throughto theviewer.
artisticmuse,an object of man's desire,and seductress.'4In There is no doubtthatBourgeoisincorporates her own life
the Surrealistworld,womanexistedforman's creativity, not into her work. In 1938 she marriedart historianRobert
herown. Goldwaterand movedto New YorkCity. Despite Goldwater's
Lacan also foundothersourcesforartisticstyleand produc- contactsin theartworld,she remainedoutsidemainstream art
tion. In the firstissue of Minotaure,his article"Le Problkme movements.'9Bourgeoisalso suffered isolationand alienation
du Style et la Conception Psychiatrique des Formes as a youngmother:in quicksuccessionduringtheearly1940s,
Paranoiaquesde l'Experience"linkedsymbolsof artistic vision she gave birthto threesons."2She now recognizes,however,
to symbolsin myth,folklore, and visionsof dilirants,frenzied thatsuch feelingsare not uncommonforwomenwithyoung
or mentally disturbedpeople.'" The fundamental tendencyofa children. In the Femmes-Maisons (Figs. 1-4), the artist
specificsymbolto be repeatedlyidentifiedwithan object is addresses these sentiments,perhaps to come to termswith
matchedby the constantprocessof la crdationpodtique,the themor evento expungethemfromherlife. Here she univer-
creationofstyle.He goes on to discussthevalueofthesesym- salizeswomen'sdomesticand societalrolesand theirplace in
bols, notingthattheirpower does not diminisheven among thesystems ofcommunication.
dilirants,because theyare groundedin a collectivehuman The Femmes-Maisons depict nude female bodies fully
identity.In thissense, dilirantsresemblewomen hysterics exposedexceptforthe housescoveringtheirheads and some-
because theyhave access into the unconscious. Lacan con- timestheirtorsos.In someimagesthearmsare trappedwithin
cludes thatthe originalsyntaxof thesesymbolsis thebasis for thebuildings;in othersthearmswaveor flailat theviewer. In
understanding the symbolicvalues of artas well as the prob- Figure 1, a profileof a woman'sbodyis topped by a simple,
lemsofstyle.Thus,artcan be understoodthrough thepsycho- whiteclapboardbuildingthatcoversher head and armsand
logicaland anthropological studyofindividualsand cultures. restson the upperpartof her breast. Her hair,fleckedwith
Lacan linkedthe symbolicdimensionin analysiswiththe pink,yellow,and brown,fliesoutoftherooftop,likesmokeor
symbolicorderthatClaude L6vi-Strauss claimedas an organiz- firefroma chimney.The woman,whosebodyis yellow,stands
ing principleof the systemsof myth,language,kinship,and in frontof what appears to be a red curtainor backdropon
economic exchangein a culture.16 Since most culturesare whichis painteda largered and whiteflowerwitha longnar-
patriarchal, thissymbolicorderis also patriarchal.It is thepre- rowstem. Belowthecurtainis a pairofwhitelegsvisiblefrom
given structureof social and sexual roles and relationsthat the knees down. The pale coloringof the woman-houseand
makeup thefamily and society.Lacan based all hislatertheo- flowercontrastwiththedarkbackgroundofthepainting'ssur-
riesof languageand sexualdifference on thisorderstructured face. The "housed"womanfacesthe flower,her hairflowing
aroundthetranscendental thephallus.
signifier, towardbut not touchingit, desirousbut afraidof its fragile
In 1933, when Lacan publishedhis articlesin Minotaure, beauty. However,theexposedlegsbehindthecurtainsuggest
Bourgeoiswas studyingmathand geometryat the Sorbonne an aspectofdeceptionin thattheflower's beautymaybe onlya
(1932-35). Althoughshe did not read the articles,she may lureto further entrapment.
have been aware of Lacan's developingideas on the uncon- The Femme-Maisonin Figure 2 is viewed frontally, her
scious and psychoanalysis.It is possiblethatBourgeoiscom- head coveredwitha classicalstructure, which,as in the first
municatedwithL6vi-Strauss and Lacan, particularly afterthe image,restson thewoman'sbreasts. Althoughthe upperpart
war when Bourgeois and L6vi-Strausswere in the United of the woman'sbody and the buildingblend into the back-
States. However,the artistherselfhas refusedto clarifythe ground,thedelicatelycoloredgenitaliaattracttheviewer'seye.
existenceor extentof any communications.'7She has said, No arms are evidentand the legs are cut offat the knees,
however,thatshe began readingLacan's books in the early reducingthe figureto a fragmented torsoand addingto the
1970sand thattheyinterested hera greatdeal.'8 feelingof dependence or lack of freedom. Here Bourgeois

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Fig. 1. Louise Bourgeois, Fig. 2. Louise Bourgeois, Fig. 3. Louise Bourgeois, Fig. 4. Louise Bourgeois,
Femme-Maison(c. 1945-47), Femme-Maison(c. 1945-47), Femme-Maison(c. 1945-47), Femme-Maison(c. 1945-47),
oil and ink on linen,36" x 14". oil and ink on linen,36" x 14". oil and ink on linen,36" x 14". ink on linen,36" x 14".
Private Collection,New York. PrivateCollection, PrivateCollection, Private Collection,New York.
Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara.

presentsthe femalebodyas an object-a prisonernotonlyof a desireto breakfreeoftraditionalroles?

herhomeor domesticspherebutalso ofhersexuality. The Femmes-Maisons suggest that Bourgeois did not
In Figure3 thebodyis almostsubsumedbythelong,block- resolvethese issuesin the 1940s. Her lifewas not grounded:
like buildingthatcoversher head, breasts,torso,waist,and forher the decade was "a period withoutfeet."" XWye has
hips. Onlythe genitaliasuggestthatthe bodyis female. The likenedBourgeois'ssculpturePortraitofJean-Louis(c. 1947-
buildingnotonlyhidesthe bodybut also distortsit,makingit 49; PrivateCollection)to the Femmes-Maisonsin thatthey
appear unnaturallylong. The three arms of this Femme- both use "anthropomorphized architectural imagery."3
Maison protrudefromthe building,flailingas iftrying to free Indeed, the figuresrepresentedin both the paintingsand
the bodyof itsprison. The legs,too,are bentand crampedin sculptureare recognizably humanonlyin thattheyhave arms
thebottompartofthepainting, thefeelingsofanx-
intensifying or legs. Like theFemmes-Maisons, PortraitofJean-Louiscon-
ietyand imprisonment. These emotionsare heightenedbythe veysinstabilitydespitethe feelingsofcomfortcommonlyasso-
roughbrushwork used on the buildingand in the background. ciatedwitha house. The 35-inchhighpaintedwood figureis
This workexemplifies whatLucy R. Lippardcalls the "uneasy narrowand cylindrical,withroughholesto representwindows
spaces" that conjureup themesof containment, anxiety,and carvedintothe skyscraperlike top. Halfwaydown is a larger
thedesireforescape.21 hole framedby archesscratchedintothe wood, signifying the
The figurein the fourthFemme-Maison (Fig. 4) seems foundation or entranceintothebuilding.This structure stands
quite well integratedwithher house. As in the otherworks, precariously on twolimbsthathave roundedends ratherthan
Bourgeoisuses inkto outlinethe formof the womanand her feet. Of thissculptureBourgeoisremarked:"It wasn'tground-
house but leavesthe figureunmoldedby color. Insteadofthe ed. But this is a veryimportantword, this idea of being
fieryemotionconveyedbytheFemme-Maisonin Figure3, this grounded,because duringthatperiodthingswerenotground-
one presentsa calm,composedfacade. The lowerstoriestaper A yearor twoafterthecreationoftheFemmes-Maisons,
ed.""'24
smoothly intoherwaist,and thewoman'sroleas fertility figure Bourgeoisstillhad notfoundstability.25
is evidentin her bare genitaliaand roundedhips and thighs. The ambivalentmessagesof the Femme-Maisonpaintings
The stairsleadingto thedoorbetweenthewoman'sbreastssig- can,perhaps,be partlyexplainedby GastonBachelard,who,in
withoutstruggle.Her leftarmhangslimplyby
nal accessibility his Poeticsof Space (1958), discussesthe variousmeaningsof
her side; however,the tinyrightarmis identicalto the flailing houses. Theysurroundtheinsidespace ofthe mind,he writes,
one in Figure3. Is Bourgeoissuggesting herewoman'saccep- and are "one of the greatestpowers of integrationforthe
tance of her place in societyor is she conve-ingthe tension thoughts, memories,and dreamsof mankind."2'"He lateradds
thatarisesbetweencontentment in domesticconfinement and that the "room and house are psychologicaldiagramsthat

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guide writers and poets in their analysis of intimacy.""27 whileothersaccept it. In addition,whileall the houses have
AlthoughBachelardwrotehis book yearsafterthe Femmes- windows and some have doors, implying accessibility,
Maisons were created, Bourgeois's images follow similar Bourgeoisdoes not tell ifthe windowsand doorsare open or
ideas.28 The house typicallyis rememberedas a source of closed, locked or unlocked. Althoughthe women's sexual
warmthand maternalprotection.Yet forBourgeois,at least organsare exposed to whoeverwishesto exploitthem,their
according to her own accounts, her childhood home was a mindsare closed offfromall outsidersby the houseson their
place of anxiety, pain,and anger. Thus forherthe house held heads. Taken together,the images cannothelp us decipher
ambivalent associations. theirmeaning. Justas in Lacan's metonymicchain,we are
Bourgeois's interest in Freud cannot be ignored, for the trappedin a circleof signifiers and signifiedswithno single
relationship between mother and child has greatimportance concrete meaning.
in the discussionof sexual JuliaKristevaexplained
differencein psychoanaly- the semiotic as an archaic
sis. Althoughthe Femmes- dimensionoflanguage. It is
Maisons do not directly preverbal,linkedto bodily
relate to the artist's chil- contact with the mother.
dren,as does, forexample, ........ Onlywhenthe childis con-
Portrait of Jean-Louis, fronted by the paternal
named after one of her IA'u order of language is she
sons,the traditionalrole of
&.....
separatedfromthe mother.
the woman as homemaker Thus, semioticorderexists
and caretakeris obvious. In prior to Lacan's symbolic
Freud's theory of the orderand coexistswiththe
Oedipus complex, the pre-Oedipal stage. Art
adoption of gender roles givesthe semioticfreerplay
allows the boy and girl to and, consequently,threat-
grow up assuming their ens the dominanceof writ-
,RM " ten and spoken language.
predestined positions in ...... ....ii
society. For Freud, the The semioticchallengesall
Oedipus complex set forth transcendental signifiers,
the structuresof morality, g
'141,
a7, 7, W which, in a phallocentric
conscience, law, and all world,denote signssuch as
formsof socialand religious the Father, the Law, and
However, all ow God. By movingawayfrom
authority. "
these entitiescannot com- fixed signs, the semiotic
pletelywipe out the unruly focuses on signifiersthat
and unpredictable uncon- mum X?M have ambiguousmeanings."
scious,whichis the source In addition,sincethe semi-
of all human desire, Fig. 5. RobertMapplethorpe, Louise Bourgeois (1982), gelatin silver print, otic is linkedwiththe pre-
20" x 16". Copyright@1982. RobertMapplethorpe Estate.
repressed or unrepressed. Oedipal phase and the
Despite the potentialdestructionthe uncontrolleduncon- mother,it is also connectedto the feminine.This association,
sciouscould bringintosociety,Freud believedit held the key combinedwiththe fluidity of meaning,directssignstowarda
to findingwaysto expose and subdue problemsthatarose in sortof bisexualityneitherwhollymasculinenor whollyfemi-
individualsand in society. nine. Takenfurther, thesemioticbreaksdownall binaryoppo-
Wheredo Lacan and Bourgeoisfitintothisscheme? Lacan sitionsconcerningpowerand possessionin society,decenter-
sees the unconsciousas beingstructured like languageand so ingthe subjectand destroying establishedculturalbeliefsand
turnsto languageas a meansof probingthe innerrecessesof institutions.3"
the mind. Accordingto Freud the unconsciousmind uses Bourgeois'sartdiffers fromthatofhermale counterparts in
dreamsto communicateto the consciousmind,but it couches theNew Yorkartworldofthe 1940sand 1950sbecause she did
and distortsmeanings,therebyproducinga seriesof symbols not have the advantageof writtenlanguage. CriticsClement
thathave to be decipheredlike a rebus.29In language,real Greenbergand Harold Rosenberg,forexample,characterized
objectsmustbe substituted by signifiers,but oftenthismean- the paintingsof New York School artistsJacksonPollock,
ing is displacedthroughmetaphorand metonymy.Thus,the Willem de Kooning,and Mark Rothkoin masculineterms,
very structure of languageprevents clear communication and focusing on the size and aggressiveness of their work.
understanding. Metonymy serves only to divide and differenti- Although Bourgeois'sworkhad been includedin journalsof
ate all identities,a phenomenonLacan emphasizesby making the proto-Abstract Expressionists,she foundherselfon the
hisownwritings convoluted.30 fringesof this group. When she turned to sculpture,she
Bourgeoisexplores these problemsthrough visual imagery. moved even furtherawayfromtheAbstractExpressionist core.
Her art is infusedwith ambiguous meaningsthat underlie Worksin mediaotherthanpaintingor createdby artistsother
problemsof communication.The Femmes-Maisonsexemplify than Americanmen with European rootswere not givena
the difficulties of communicationbetween humansthrough place in theAbstractExpressionist movement."
images rather than words. Without faces, none of the women By expressing herself throughart ratherthan language,
havean identity.Onlythevariousstylesoftheirhousesdiffer- Bourgeoiscircumvented thesymbolicorderofpatriarchal soci-
entiatethem. Some figuresseem to fighttheircontainment ety. Sincelanguageexistspriorto theindividual, thechildwho

0
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has acquiredlanguageentersintoa worldof conventions that incongruously entitledFillette.In keepingwiththeblatantsex-
she has had no role in shaping.4 AlthoughBourgeoisin the ual imageryof the sculpture, we can explicatethe photograph
Femmes-Maisonsshowsthelossofcontroland senseofanxiety in termsofsexuality and gender. Bourgeois,in herblack,furry
thatsucha situationcausesin a woman,she laterexploresways coat, becomes a vaginathatengulfsthe penis. Her devilish,
in whichsexualdifference becomesblurred. even lewd, expressionas she ticklesthe head of the penis
In sculpturesof the early 1970s, Bourgeois merged the leaves littledoubtthatshe is in control. The imagehas been
sexes intoformsrepresenting both male and femalegenitalia. interpreted as one of castration;4however,it can also be seen
FragileGoddess(c. 1970; PrivateCollection),a smallsculpture as one ofprotectiveness. Indeed,herfigurecontainsthesculp-
of self-hardening clay,representsboth an erect penis and a tureitself,as ifshe wereprotecting it fromoutsideforces. In
roundfertility goddess. Althougheach entitysharesthe same thisphotographMapplethorpeshowsBourgeoisas a mature
parts,tension is present.It is an aggressive-looking work,butit artistwho,thoughshe maynot have resolvedissues of sexual
also appears quite fragile,particularlyat the base of the differenceand problems of communication,has gone far
penis/neck wherethereare cracksin the clay. Bourgeoisalso beyondLacan and mostfeminists by searchingforintegration
searchesfora resolution ofsexualdifference.In TraniEpisode ofthesexesratherthanseparation. 0
(c. 1971-72;PrivateCollection),a hydrocaland latexwork,she
restssoftpenis/breast formson top of one another.The calm, NOTES
flaccidappearanceof the workimpliesa sense of comfort, if I thankProfessor AnnEden GibsonoftheStateUniversity ofNewYork,
notharmony, betweenthe ambiguousshapes. Discussingthis StonyBrook,forherhelpwiththisarticle.
sculpturein a 1975 interview, Bourgeoisspokeof the merging 1. DeborahWye,LouiseBourgeois(NewYork: MuseumofModern
of oppositesand "the problemof survival,havingto do with Art,1982),14.
identificationwithone or theother;withmergingand adopting 2. Paul Gardner,"The 'DiscreetCharm'of Louise Bourgeois," Art
thedifferences ofthefather.""35 In an earlierinterviewshe stat- News(February 1980),84.
ed, "We are all vulnerablein some way and we are all male- 3. Gardner, "DiscreetCharm," 82-84;Wye,LouiseBourgeois, 14.
female."36 4. Author's telephone interview
with Louise Bourgeois, October 1989.
Bourgeois's use of gender ambiguitymay be not only a 5. JaneGallop,ReadingLacan (Ithaca,N.Y.: CornellUniversity,
denunciationof phallocentric languageand patriarchal society 1985),126-27.The definitions ofmetaphor andmetonymy arefromFunk
but also of Lacan's own definition of the femininein psycho- & WagnallsStandardCollegeDictionary.
analysis. Lacan's theoriesof absolute sexual differenceare 6. See TerryEagleton,Literary Theory:AnIntroduction (Minneapo-
based on an inequalityofthe sexesthatbeginswiththe castra- lis: University of Minnesota,1983), 169; Gallop,ReadingLacan, and
tion complex. Yet he embarkedon his own psychoanalytical SteveBurnison andChrisWeedon,"Ideology, SubjectivityandtheArtistic
workby studying womenhysterics, as did Freud,and applied Text,"in On Ideology,Bill Schwartz, ed. (London: Hutchinson, 1978),
the resultsto male subjects. Lacan neverconsidersthe impli- 212,forcomments on Lacan'simpenetrable writingstyle.
cationsof his theoriesforwomen;insteadhe assumes,as did 7. See MarshaPels,"LouiseBourgeois:A SearchforGravity," Art
his perceived audience, thatthe beneficiariesof his explo- International (October1979),54.
rationsintotheunconsciouswouldbe men. 8. BothBourgeoisand Lacan werepartof thesecirclesin France.
In her examinationof the process of gynesis(the putting Bourgeoisalso knewmanySurrealistsin New YorkCityduringand
intodiscourseof "woman"as intrinsic to new modesof think- immediately afterthewar. However,thereis no evidenceindicating that
ing,writing,and speaking)and itsuse in literary Alice
criticism, Lacanwasin NewYorkinthe1940s. Bourgeois is evasiveon thisissue.
JardineprobesLacan's view of the femalebodyand the male 9. Bourgeoisrecently publishedan articleon Freud'scollectionof
subject.3"Lacan sees feminine jouissance"as an ultimatelimit antiquities.See "Freud'sToys,"Artforum (January 1990),111-13.
to any discoursearticulatedby Man," goingbeyondphallic 10. Jerry Gorovoy, "The Iconography of Louise Bourgeois,"in The
pleasure.3" It has to do with the space of the Other-the Iconography ofLouise Bourgeois(New York: Max Hutchinson/Xavier
unfathomable and the ineffable.But thereare otherlimitsto Fourcade,1980),n.p.
discourse-"the Real, the True, and the Unconscious"-all of 11. PatrickWaldberg,Surrealism(London: Thamesand Hudson,
whichare genderedas feminine because theycannotbe under- 1965),104.
stood consciously. If the unconsciousis feminine,thenlan- 12. Gardner, "DiscreetCharm,"84.
guage and writingmustbe femininealso. But thiscannotbe 13. See JacquesLacan,"Motifsdu CrimeParanoiaque, le Crimedes
possible,because Lacan has determined languageto be one of SoeursPapin,"Minotaure (December1933),25-28.
the mainstaysof patriarchy. Thus, he stops his feminine 14. Whitney Chadwick, WomenofSurrealism (Boston:Little,Brown,
metonymy at theliterary."39
He mustdo this,because otherwise 1985),103.
womansubvertsnot onlyhis own theoriesbut the verystruc- 15. Jacques Lacan, "Le Probleme du Style et la Conception
turesof society. In her analysisof Lacan, Jardineshowsthat Psychiatrique des FormesParanoiaquesde l'Experience,"Minotaure
his theoriesdo not hold up to scrutiny.His need to assign (June1933),68-69.
everything a gendersupportshis desireto findabsolutesexual 16. See Claude Levi-Strauss, The Elementary Structures of Kinship,
differenceat all levelsoftheconsciousand unconscious. JamesHarle Bell and JohnRichardvon Sturmer, trans.(London: Eyre
Bourgeoismayhavelookedfora femalesubjectin herwork andSpottiswoode, 1969).
of the 1940s, where images focus on the female formand 17. Author's telephone interview
withLouiseBourgeois, October1989.
exploreproblemsof femininity froma woman'sperspective. RobertPincus-Witten claimsthatBourgeoisdid,indeed,havefriendships
Bythe 1970s,however,thesexesare merged. withLevi-Strauss and Lacan,buthe does notsubstantiate thisstatement;
Perhapsone of the mostrevealingimagesof Bourgeoisand see Bourgeois Truth(NewYork:RobertMillerGallery, 1982),n.p.
her artis her 1982 portraitby RobertMapplethorpe(Fig. 5). 18. Ibid.
Dressed in a shaggyfurcoat,Bourgeoiscradlesunderherarm 19. RobertStorrs, "LouiseBourgeois:GenderandPossession," Artin
a largeveinedphalluswithbulboustesticles-a 1968 sculpture America(April1983),128.

WOMAN'S ARTJOURNALFALL1992/WINTER1993

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 20. Pels, "Search for Gravity," 51. Interestingly, Bourgeois's 28. Storrs notes a parallel between Bourgeois and Bachelard and
recollectionsof the period still seem ambivalent. To Pels she revealed suggestsit as an area forfurtherstudy,see "Gender and Possession,"137.
memories of not being grounded, but she has told other authors, 29. Sigmund Freud, The Interpretationof Dreams: The Standard
specificallyDeborah Wye, thather studies at the Art StudentsLeague in Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, IV
the 1940s providedstability;see Wye,Bourgeois,15. (London: HogarthPress, 1953-74),277-78.
21. Lucy R. Lippard, "Louise Bourgeois: From the Inside Out," 30. Eagleton,LiteraryTheory,169.
Artforum(March 1975), 27. 31. Julia Kristeva,Revolution in Poetic Language, MargaretWaller,
22. Pels, "Search forGravity," 50. trans.(New York: Columbia University, 1984), 49-50, 62-65, 68-71.
23. Wye,Louise Bourgeois,19, and pl. 48. See thiscatalogue forother 32. Eagleton,LiteraryTheory,188-90.
worksdone before 1982, discussedbut not illustratedhere. 33. Ann Gibson, Issues in Abstract Expressionism: The Artist-Run
24. Pels, "Search forGravity," 50. Periodicals(AnnArbor,Mich.: UMI Research,1990), 57-58.
25. Bourgeois returnedto a variationof the Femme-Maison theme in 34. RosalindKrauss,"Notes on the Index,"October (Spring1977), 70.
the early1980s. Femme-Maison'81 (PrivateCollection) is a large (481/s"x 35. Lippard,"Bourgeois,"31.
47" x 497/s")sculpture carved of black marble. Long cylindricalforms 36. Dorothy Seiberling, "The Female View of Erotica," New York
clusteraround a cliffupon whichstandsa rectilinearbuildingwitha gable Times (February11, 1974), cited in Lippard,"Inside Out," 31.
roof. A 1983 white marble (25" x 19V2"x 23") Femme-Maison (Robert 37. Alice Jardine,Gynesis(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University, 1985), 25.
Miller Gallery, New York) shows a small building perched atop a 38. Ibid., 167.
mountainof carved drapery. Both sculpturesportraythe house not as a 39. Ibid., 168.
place that traps women but as an invitingshelter,protected by flexible 40. RichardHoward, "The MapplethorpeEffect,"in RichardMarshall,
penile formsor voluptuousdrapery. The smooth solidityand volume of et. al., Robert Mapplethorpe (New York: The Whitney Museum of
the marble contrastwith the flatnessand fragilityof the paintingsand AmericanArt,1988), 157.
offera stabilitythatthe youngBourgeoisfoundimpossibleto attain.
26. Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, Maria Jolas,trans. (New JulieNicoletta,a doctoralcandidatein thehistory
ofartat Yale
York: Orion, 1964), 6. is completing
University, a dissertation
on Shakerarchitecture.
27. Ibid., 38.

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