Louise Bourgeois. Hamlet and Ophelia (1997)

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Louise Bourgeois. Hamlet and Ophelia. 1997

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION

Cat. No. 697/IV

Hamlet and Ophelia

State/Variant:: State IV of VI
Date:: 1997

Themes:: Figures, Nature, Spirals
Techniques:: Lithography
Description:: Lithograph
Support:: Paper
Dimensions:: composition and sheet: 29 1/4 × 41" (74.3 × 104.1 cm)
Signature:: "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher:: unpublished
Printer:: SOLO Impression, New York
Edition:: 1 known impression of state IV
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Proof before the editioning of state VI.
State Changes and Additions:: Matrices:
The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 8 lithography plates.

Plate 1 in red: figures.

Plate 2 in dark blue: horizontal line between figures, shoes, Adam’s apple, water.

Plate 3 in light blue: shading in Ophelia’s hair.

Plate 4 in turquoise: sky.

Plate 5 in dark blue: shading in Ophelia’s hair.

Plate 6 in black: horizontal line between figures, penis, Adam’s apple, shoes, eyes.

Plate 7 in light blue: waves and shading lines in water.

Plate 8 in dark blue: shading in sky, shading lines water, shading in Ophelia’s hair.

Print State Changes:
Plates 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8 printed.
Changes from state III: plates 2 and 5 removed; plates 6, 7, and 8 introduced.
Changes from state III, in plate 1, in lithography: Hamlet's hand added.
Changes from state III, in plate 4, in lithography: sky uniformly shaded in.
Background:: State VI of this composition was published as a benefit for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), a multi-arts center located in Brooklyn, New York. For more than 150 years, BAM has been the home for adventurous artists, audiences, and ideas—engaging both global and local communities. With world-renowned programming in theater, dance, music, opera, and film, BAM showcases the work of emerging artists and innovative modern masters.

BAM's Visual Arts Initiative, a program that connects the visual and performing arts, approached Bourgeois to produce a work to benefit the organization. Bourgeois offered "Hamlet and Ophelia," which was then reproduced on the program for the 1997 Spring Season.

The source drawing for "Hamlet and Ophelia" is Untitled, no. 135 of 220, from the series, "The Insomnia Drawings." The drawing was reproduced on the cover of "Otte," Bourgeois's 1995 rap album, with lyrics and vocals by the artist, music by Satch Hoyt and Ramuntcho Matta, and production by Brigitte Cornand.
Artist’s Remarks:: Inscription on the verso of the source drawing: "La confiance est [strikethrough] / devrait être / endémique petit à petit / je vais l'attraper / Sauvée par la Routine / 5 minutes at a time / Elle n'est pas Ophelia et ses cheveux / She is not Ophelia" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand; "HAPPY (FEB 14) / VALENTINE [sic] DAY" center sheet, red ink, artist's hand.
Curatorial Remarks:: The paper type could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person.
This Work in Other Collections:: Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Massachusetts (state VI)
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia (state VI)
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA (state VI)