Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine - DVD Review

The sculptor and abstract artist Louise Bourgeois is profiled in this incisive documentary. She is depicted as a female art icon who is alternately cranky and cooperative to her friends, family, gallery owners and filmmakers Marion Cajori and Amei Wallach. The most interesting parts of the film find Bourgeois actually explaining the symbols in her immense works. These insights are invaluable but, as one of her admirers notes, these reflections (mostly about family) tend to oddly limit the works’ resonance.

Shelf Talk: Bourgeois is not a household name, but art aficionados will be familiar with her large, very striking works. The film’s positive reviews from its arthouse run should help to grab the attention of those unfamiliar with her work.