THE CREATIVE WORLD CREATED THROUGH SEWING OR EMBROIDERY TECHNIQUES IN ART: LOUISE BOURGEOIS AND GHADA AMER

This study investigates the application of sewing and embroidery techniques in artworks and their provision of a creative realm for artistic expression. These techniques, historically linked to women's labor, have been re-evaluated by artists to explore personal and societal topics, so establishing a foundation for both aesthetic and social critique. The study seeks to elucidate the conceptual and aesthetic contributions of these techniques in art through an analysis of the works of Louise Bourgeois and Ghada Amer, who employ sewing and embroidery to formulate an artistic language. Through these conventional approaches, the artists have broadened their expressive domains by interrogating personal memories, gender roles, and notions of female identity. The study employed visual document analysis, a qualitative research method, to examine the works of selected artists via a hermeneutic lens. Hermeneutic analysis elucidates the multifaceted meanings conveyed by artists through their methodologies and addresses the evolution of these methodologies beyond their conventional interpretations. The study investigated Louise Bourgeois's works “The Good Mother”, “Untitled”, “Single I” as well as Ghada Amer’s “My Nympheas #2”, “A Lost Checkered Dyptic”. The artistic realms established by each artist through these conventional approaches provide a broad platform for societal critique rooted in their personal experiences. Traditional techniques have been reimagined and employed as a potent instrument of creative resistance by Louise Bourgeois and Ghada Amer. By rendering childhood traumas, emotional injuries, and suppressed memories visible through stitching and embroidery, they have converted art into a realm of healing and confrontation. Particularly in Bourgeois' “Good Mother”, it was noted that these tactics provide a narrative language that intensifies emotional anguish. Ghada Amer’s application of sewing skills emancipates the female body and sexuality from patriarchal constraints, thereby redefining them. By incorporating techniques conventionally regarded as “feminine” into art, the artist celebrates female identity and bodily autonomy, so providing the audience with a distinct perspective on women's corporeal existence. The roles of sewing and embroidery in art extend beyond mere aesthetics, becoming into a medium for challenging social standards.

Keywords

Sewing technique, embroidery technique, Louise Bourgeois, Ghada Amer.