LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Themes:

Figures, Motherhood & Family

Techniques:

Drypoint, Engraving

Description:

Engraving and drypoint

Support:

Smooth, wove paper

Dimensions:

plate: 10 15/16 x 8 1/2" (27.8 x 21.6 cm); sheet: 17 1/8 x 14 1/4" (43.5 x 36.2 cm)

Signature:

Not signed

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

1 known impression of state II

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

Proof before the editioning of state VIII on fabric.

State Changes and Additions:

Changes from state I in engraving: composition further delineated and reinforced overall.
Changes from state I in drypoint: umbilical cord added.

Background:

"Umbilical Cord" relates to a monumental installation for the inaugural exhibition in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in 2000. The installation consisted of "Maman," a 30' steel sculpture of a spider, and "I Do, I Undo, I Redo," three steel towers ranging in height from 42' to 57'. Each tower contained a different sculpture of a mother and child inside a bell jar. The sculpture in the tower titled, "I Redo," featured a mother and child attached by an umbilical cord. Bourgeois also made another related print called "Do Not Abandon Me," 2000, which includes a similar mother and child.

Curatorial Remarks:

MoMA's Conservation Department examined this impression under a microscope and determined that the composition is primarily delineated in engraving, with heavy inking. Some drypoint lines seem evident in various places, particularly in the umbilical cord.

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

1007.2008

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY