Maman is a sculpture by French-born American sculptor Louise Bourgeois. The sculpture, which resembles a female spider, is over 30 feet high, with a sac containing pure white marble eggs. Maman (meaning mother) depicts the protectiveness as well as the fragility of motherhood. It has several casts and is displayed at various places around the World.
The locations, as per Wikipedia, are given below (arranged East to West);
- Mori Art Museum, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
- Samsung Museum of Modern Art (Leeum), Seoul, S Korea
- State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
- Tate Modern, London, UK
- Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA
- National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
- National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., USA
- Palace of the Asturian Center, Havana, Cuba
- Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, USA
- Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
In this post I have shown images of all the permanent sculptures. The link to the locations on Google Earth/Google Maps can be found at the end of this post.
1. Mori Art Museum, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
Image from Flickr is by Swiv
2. Samsung Museum of Modern Art (Leeum), Seoul, S Korea
Unlike other places two Mamans are at display here.
Image from Flickr is by xoxoryan
3. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Image from Flickr is by AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker
Some more images and the story about Maman can be found at Hemitage Museum Web page.
4. Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
Image from Flickr is by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE
5. Tate Modern, London, UK
While the other statues are cast in Bronze this one is made of Stainless Steel.
Image from Flickr is by plentyofants
6. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
Image from Flickr is by dalbera
7. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA
Unlike other sculpture which are located outdoors this one is located inside the building.
Image from Flickr is by brokentrinkets
8. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Image from Flickr is by jpctalbot
9. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., USA
Image from Flickr is by cliff1066™
10. Palace of the Asturian Center, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
Image from Flickr is by Nemo's great uncle
11. Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, USA
The Maman at this location has been installed in the recently opened Pappajohn Sculpture Park which was inaugurated Sept. 27, 2009
An image of the same can be seen at this link.
12. Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Image from Flickr is by Eisenvater
View all locations in Google Earth Google Maps
Hey, just to let you know, the Maman's are no longer in London, Paris, Boston or D.C. Trust me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Molly for the info. Maman has always been quite mobile so it possible that she may have been temporarily loaned to some other museum/location.
ReplyDeleteAny way thanks once again for the info.
All the best.
we were at the Hermitage in 2004. Was the Spider there then? I don't remember seeing it.
ReplyDeleteHi Gary
ReplyDeleteMaman was exhibited at the Hermitage Museum around Nov. 2001. See their Official webpage.
As I wrote in my earlier comment, Maman has always been quite mobile so it may be possible that in 2004 she was away from Hermitage. Best would be to check with with the Museum via their feed back link.
More Louise Bourgeois:
ReplyDeletehttp://elizabethavedon.blogspot.com/2010/03/louise-bourgeois-interview.html
@Buenos Aires, Argentina.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.clarin.com/ciudades/Colas-ver-arana-Boca_0_447555386.html
There is a maman in Toronto Canada as well. At the Distillery District
ReplyDeleteThank you Patricia. After reading your comments I did Google search but couldn't find any reference to Maman Spider in Toronto. However there is a giant spider sculpture but it is of different design and perhaps by a different artist.
ReplyDeletePlease have a look at this link.
If this is not the spider you are referring to and a real Maman by Louise Bourgeois does exist in Toronto then please send me some link/reference to it. Thanks
why would they put these spiders up ..they are gross..creepy as hell and i dont see the need for them...brenda
ReplyDeletewhy would they put these creepy spiders?
ReplyDeletehere is the answer
Q-Anon: Follow the Spider sculptures called Mamans around the world
http://www.astoundingelements.com/qanon-follow-the-spider-sculptures-called-mamans-around-the-world.html
Maman Spider as well Château La Coste, 13610 Puy Saint Réparde
ReplyDelete