The spiders of Louise Bourgeois

The Mori Museum in Tokyo has a spider by Louise Bourgeois. We also saw one in Spain, at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

The spider is a recurring motif in Louise Bourgeois’ work—a mother figure.

The friend (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 useful as an araignée. She could also defend herself, and me, by refusing to answer ‘stupid’, inquisitive, embarrassing personal questions.
I shall never tire of representing her.
I want to: eat, sleep, argue, hurt, destroy
Why do you?
My reasons belong exclusively to me.
The treatment of Fear.

Louise bourgeois spider bilbao
The spider in Bilbao

Louise bourgeois spider tokyo
In Tokyo.

In Tate.

Louise bourgeois spider tate

Ginza Tsutaya Books; great selection of photobooks

Ginza Six is an upscale department store in Tokyo. Most stores are uninteresting unless you are interested in luxury clothing and accessories. But on the top floor of this mall, you will find Tsutaya Books, an excellent bookstore with a great selection of photo books.

I only had an hour before we had to travel to the airport, but I found many unusual books and zones by Japanese photographers. There was even an original Les Americains by Robert Frank behind glass.

I found Tokyo Street Vol. 6 with pictures by Tatsuo Suzuki, the reprint of Provoke.

Kamakura poem

I wrote this in a whim (in English) about Kamakura. A haiku?

A faint Hawaiian vibe.
Black sand, concrete, and rusty fences.
Missing beach bars.

Japanese observances

  1. In our four-person apartment, there are two single beds and two folding beds against the wall. The folding beds are the modern version of the futon, the Japanese folding sleeping mat.
  2. Japan’s youth do not seem as scrupulous about mouth caps as the elderly. There are increasingly uncovered faces on the trains, and these are predominantly the young.
  3. You can rent a bike with an easy smartphone app. However, the app’s interface is only available in Japanese, making it unusable by tourists.
  4. When it rains in Japan, it seems to rain well and all day. Everyone outside is equipped with a robust, transparent plastic umbrella.
  5. The Japanese coast is often made ugly. Vines of concrete, nets, sandbags, and rusty fences mar beaches and boulevards.
  6. The Japanese surfer does extensive stretching exercises before entering the water. They do act a little guilty as you walk by.
  7. There are virtually no outdoor cafes anywhere in Japan. Drinking a beer or anything else on a terrace is a concept that doesn’t seem to exist. A bar, an occasion where you go for a drink, is also unusual.