Smailes was the kind of person who ate dessert before dinner. He wanted to leave behind him a lovely penis in a public place. Gormley entered in the spirit of the donor, suggesting a male figure from whose erect member water flowed.
\nLigon’s idea was subtler, a male looking into a water pond and
\nseeing his own reflection.
\nGormley’s design was possibly too explicit, even for Corrin. And
\nwhile Ligon’s was quieter, it came
\nwith a less active water element than Smailes envisioned.<\/p>\n
That left Bourgeois, who got the nod for Father and Son<\/i>. Her design
\nfeatures the family pair facing each other as water plays over the
\nsurface of one body and then the other, forever separating one from the other. Bourgeois isn’t known for fountains or for realistic nudes, male or female.
\nBut she’s recognized for the range and flexibility of her
\nproduction.
\nShe dealt with the figure in both sculptures and
\ndrawings, leaning toward psychologically rich content with
\nFreudian overtones. She was interested in how family dynamics shape lives.
\nBut most of all, she was interested in how she could use content, any
\ncontent, to create art. <\/p>\n
Bourgeois:<\/p>\n
The subject is only the subject. So it’s not a
\nmystery. The mystery resides in what you do with it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBourgeois died Monday at age 98. (New York Times obit here<\/a>.) <\/p>\n
Her achievement is towering, but not in Seattle. After looking at her fountain for several years, I think it stands as her worst work ever. Even water jets cannot animate her awkward father and son, nude for no reason beyond the patron’s stipulation. The water was supposed to cover one and reveal the other, but it tends to cover or reveal each together. <\/p>\n
If only Smailes had harbored an interest in giant spiders<\/a>.<\/p>\n
![\"louisebourdadson.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/louisebourdadson.jpg\")
If Smailes were alive and allowed a vote, doubtless he would have gone for Gormley. I didn’t have a vote either, but I would have gone for Ligon. On the other hand, Bourgeois threw in two sets of eyeball benches in black granite, and they rock. Kids growing up in Seattle will remember sitting on eyeballs, which could be all they need to jump start their lifelong interest in art.<\/p>\n![\"louisebourgeye.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/louisebourgeye.jpg\")
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