Last week’s artist, Keith Haring said: “Art is nothing if you don’t reach every segment of the people.” This week’s artist, Louise Bourgeois, accomplished that feat by creating gigantic spider sculptures and installing them in museums or out in public spaces. Her spiders, like all spiders, elicit reactions.

In college, I worked with a guy named Bill who said, “If it’s for free, it’s for me,” and another guy, John, whose version went, “If it’s for free, I’ll have three.” Neither pronounced the ‘r’ in the word for. So, go back and read them again with that detail in mind. I’ve never been able to get these mottos out of my head. They remain on top, and defeat all challengers: Most recently, my brother tagging anything gratis: “Free-99.”

In London, most museums are free to visit. I wasn’t into art at this time, but had Bill’s motto in mind, so headed to Tate Modern because I heard the museum had a viewing platform with one of the best vistas of the city. Before I made it there, rushing through the museum, I encountered a spider.

The way our eyes meet the black spot in the corner of a room, ten-times more likely when the room is white and used seasonally, my eyes found Louise’s black creation on display quietly in the distance. Scaled to a size only possible in Hollywood or a nightmare, the spider towered over its admirers. The shiny, steel structure’s details popped or faded depending on the light as you moved around it. Not until I was practically underneath the beast, did I notice several eggs enclosed in a cage-like body. The monster in the room was also a pregnant mother. —Phillip Dillon

HERE ARE A FEW QUOTES OF louise’s THAT MADE ME THINK OR SMILE:

“Pain is the ransom of formalism.”

“Tell your own story, and you will be interesting.”

“I am not what I am, I am what I do with my hands.”

“It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.”

“The artist has the privilege of being in touch with his or her unconscious. This is really a gift. It is the definition of sanity. It is the definition of self-realization.”

“You learn for yourself, not for others, not to show off, not to put the other one down. Learning is your secret. It is all you have. It is the only thing you can call your own. Nobody can take it away.”

“To convince others, you have to convince yourself; and a conciliatory or even an unduly understanding attitude – in that it is inevitably superficial – is not helpful to creativity.”

“I transform nasty work into good work. I transform hate into love. That’s what makes me tick.”

“You are born alone. You die alone. The value of the space in between is trust and love.”