Louise Bourgeois on The Spider

“The spider—why the spider? Because
my best friend was my mother and she
was deliberate, clever, patient, soothing,
reasonable, dainty, subtle, indispensable,
neat, and as useful as a spider.”
-Louise Bourgeois

Bourgeois has a long history with the Spider as a symbol in art. She uses it mainly as a reference to her mother, who was a tapestry-maker and highly intelligent and formidable woman. The idea of the spider as a spinner of webs, -that trap insects and prevent their diseases- paints them as a protector of the innocent.