Monday’s Muse: Louise Bourgeois

“Clothing 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.”

I’ve been musing over this quote from artist Louise Bourgeois and would like to dedicate it to all of those pieces in our wardrobes that we just can’t throw out for this very reason. Why is it that we feel the need to hold onto these pieces. By wearing a piece of cloth; perfectly designed to make us feel, walk and live in a certain way, does it really start to absorb our emotional state of the time. Can it change and grow as we do, or is it always the first experience that sticks. Maybe we avoid separation with these items of clothing because the memories are not enough on their own. Yet, I would have thought that they’d be better than the actual thing. For explanations unknown, in some cases there is a need for a tactile reminder of colour, texture and shape. So, we keep them. Forever reminding us of a time, a place, a mood, and we allow each piece to take up two rooms; one in our wardrobe and one in our mind. And perhaps there’s one in our heart too. So, maybe there are three. Each hosting a library of memories and ideas.

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I was going to say that this quote is somewhat unrelated to Louise Bourgeois’ work, but on second thoughts, I don’t think that it would be correct to say. It tells us of her absolute attention and time she is willing to give to each thing that enters her world, whether it is tangible or not. Her openness to stall over an idea and explore it is an attribute that can be seen in my most favourite of her works; Ode à la Bièvre, Seven In Bed, The Welcoming Hands. Which leads me to another quote from Louise Bourgeois that I love: “It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.”