Mothers & Spiders: Metaphors of Art
Arachnophobes beware! You might catch a dose of tarantism!
Maman.
A 30 ft high and over 33 ft wide spider stands still with a sac filled with 32 grey marble eggs as people below gather and walk through the arched legs of the magnificent creature.
Mummy.
Feeling once again as children, the spectators look up to admire the mother that stands as an ode to Louise Bourgeois’ own mom who died when the artist was only 21.
If a spider this big showed up in the middle of the road, most of us would immediately die of a heart attack; or our intellect would try to convince us that we just stepped on a set of a B rated movie Tarantula from 1955 starring a young Clint Eastwood.
“GIANT SPIDER STRIKES! CRAWLING TERROR A HUNDRED FEET HIGH!”
Yet, instead of running for our lives, we rush to museums and galleries to admire the grotesque yet gorgeous sculpture; we even start to think that there really are similarities between this piece of art and our own mother. This is exactly where the beauty of art lies. Be it fine art, music, theater, film: it snaps us from the mundaneness of our own lives and takes us on a journey through our dreams, phobias, childhood, traumas; it puts a twist on the world we live in, and it even gives us a glimpse into the future.
Even if we fear spiders, as in the example of Louise Bourgeois’ work, we will not only accept the image in front of us because art provides us with that container to experience all our emotions while feeling safe and protected, but we will somehow, curiously, also feel connected with perfect strangers that just happened to come out of hiding to admire the same piece of art the same day that we did.
“
Like a spider, my mother was a weaver. My family was in the business of tapestry restoration, and my mother was in charge of the workshop. Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that eat mosquitoes. We know that mosquitoes spread diseases and are therefore unwanted. So, spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother.” Louise Bourgeois
from the Divine Animals Oracle by Stacey DemarcoSo what lies behind the name Tarantula: Authors and Art and how was it chosen?
The answer is as simple as flipping a card. The question we asked as shuffling the Divine Animals Oracle deck by Stacey Demarco, was should we start a digital art and story publication. The answer that came back to us was Tarantula and connection:
“When you feel you need greater connection to life or you need support, particularly in creative matters, ask the spider for help. “
So we did, ask for help. The deck was bought as our own attempt to break out of the reality of our everyday lives, and fill them with a bit of playfulness, mystery and magic. Yes, we wanted to write stories and embrace art more often into our lives, but what was hidden underneath the surface, in the depths of our desires was to connect with kindred souls. More than ever, after two years of corona, the need to reclaim our voices and creativity as well as to connect felt like an emergency.
Consequently, we allowed ourselves to get bitten by the tarantula and suffered tarantism, an illness recorded between the 15th and I7th C in Italy caused by the bite of the notorious spider, that brought about an extreme impulse to dance. Engaging in the rapid whirling dance, Tarantella, we decided to adopt the tarantula, a spider that we fear as our manifesto, to help us overcome our phobias and obstacle blocks on the road to creative freedom.
Tarantula: Authors and Art is our dance. Come and spin with us!
The Tarantula Manifesto
1. A tarantula doesn’t make typical webs like other spider species, they spin silk creating burrows where they can hide, catch their pray, relax. Unlike Spiderman who shoots silk from his arms, the tarantula shoots the silky threads from their feet. Pretty unique, ah?
2. Highly sensitive to vibrations and fragile, tarantulas use their spinning technique for three reasons:
They cover the floors of their boroughs from wall to wall, so ants wouldn’t walk across
They cover the entrance to their burrows to be alerted if prey is knocking on the other side
They form hammocks! And lay in them the whole day!
How luxurious!
3. Tarantulas are busy building their spiderwebs and they put a lot of hard work into them. It symbolizes that you need patience to reach your goals!
4. As an animal totem it represents an invitation to put all your ideas in the physical universe and make them materialize as well as to take back control of your life.
And if you are still not convinced that spiders and art have similarities, here is a little bit of spider poetry by Emily Dickinson:
The Spider as an Artist
- Emily Dickinson
The Spider as an Artist Has never been employed— Though his surpassing Merit Is freely certified By every Broom and Bridget Throughout a Christian Land— Neglected Son of Genius I take thee by the Hand—
Tell us dear, readers, those of you that told us that just the thought of a tarantula makes your hair stand on end; that when you read or hear the word Tarantula it is not obvious at first that it is a magazine that is inspired by art, stories, as well as little pleasures in life, just like it is not obvious how can a spider serve as a metaphor for a mother. Tell us, did your perspective shift just a little bit?
Tarantulas are endangered in Sri Lanka, the United States and Mexico. Our creativity is threatened by sameness caused by algorithms and deep rooted fears. For all the arachnophobic who read this article until the end, congratulations! Call in the Tarantula magic and connect with us, create with us, share! Comments are expected!