Ottawa: Maman, Sculpture by Louise Bourgeois

Ottawa: Maman Overcomes the Church

Ottawa: Maman's Egg Sac

Maman by Louise Bourgeois stands by the main entrance of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Ottawa: During Construction Even the Shroud is Artful

The Great Hall of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa is undergoing window replacement. At the start of the project the entire structure was covered by an iceberg! Watch the installation here. Fortunately for us, who had not been to Ottawa since last spring's tulip extravaganza, the project is running longer than anticipated.

Louise Bourgeois' Maman welcome most visitors to the museum, although my commenter from Ottawa mentions that some arachnophobes choose another entrance. I understand.

Louise Bourgeois' Maman

This photo also shows the atrium of Moshe Safdie's National Gallery of Canada, a massive architectural reflection of the Library on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. (See my November 16 post.)

Louise Bourgeois, 1911-2010

Sculptor Louise Bourgeois died over the weekend in NYC at 98 years old. 

This Spider is in the sculpture garden at New Orleans Museum of Art. She produced many other spiders and a vast quantity of sculpture over a long successful career. 

The spider Maman in the plaza of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa is 10 meters tall.

Her work is strong and emotionally evocative. She was working in her studio until last week. We will miss her greatly.

I took this picture during the last week of 2008. I drove to NOLA with Joli; Ed joined us a day later. We were surprised and pleased to find Prospect New Orleans: P.1 art exhibition spread throughout the city, some of it in the hard hit Lower Ninth Ward, reflections of the devastation of Katrina. 

Planned as a biennial due to rise again as P.2 at the end of 2010, it has already been delayed until 2011 because of New Orleans' continuing economic struggle. The gulf oil spill will only hurt NOLA further. We grieve.

Blow the picture up to great effect.