LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Descriptive Title:

English translation: "Ode to Forgetting"

Themes:

Fabric Works, Words

Techniques:

Lithography

Description:

Lithograph, with red ink additions

Support:

Fabric

Dimensions:

sheet: 9 1/4 × 11 1/2" (23.5 × 29.2 cm)

Signature:

"LB" right lower sheet, stitched in red thread.

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

SOLO Impression, New York

Edition:

7 known variant impressions of version 1, only state

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

Proof before version 2 was used as the cover of the 2002 unique fabric illustrated book and before the editioning of the 2004 fabric illustrated book.

Of the 7 known variant impressions of version 1, there are 4 that vary only slightly due to subtle patterns in each fabric. Three of the 4 impressions are not illustrated, due to their similarity to the first impression seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. There is also a second impression on a polka dot handkerchief not illustrated due to its similarity to the one seen below.

This trial version has staining or scorching, which is commonly found in the old fabrics Bourgeois chose to use as printing surfaces.

Curatorial Remarks:

In deciding the font size, layout, background, and sheet size for the cover of "Ode à l'Oubli," Bourgeois made trial versions. She also made trial versions for the text pages within the book.

Other Remarks:

Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, remembers a circumflex accent was mistakenly printed on the "A" on the trials for the cover, and on the cover and spine of the unique 2002 book. He is not sure how Bourgeois missed the error. When the cover for the editioned version was made in 2004, it was decided that the title looked best printed with all capital letters, with no accent, and with no italics.

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of The Easton Foundation

MoMA Accession Number:

568.2016

This Work in Other Collections:

Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY