Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the series, The Laws of Nature (c. 2003)

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Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the series, The Laws of Nature. c. 2003

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION

Cat. No. 353c/IV, variant 2

Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the series, The Laws of Nature

State/Variant:: State IV of VII, variant
Date:: c. 2003
Series:: The Laws of Nature (View All)

Themes:: Fabric Works, Figures
Techniques:: Drypoint
Description:: Drypoint, with black ink additions
Support:: Fabric
Dimensions:: plate: 4 3/4 x 5 3/4" (12 x 14.6 cm); sheet: 7 3/4 x 8 1/2" (19.7 x 21.6 cm)
Signature:: "LB" right lower margin, stitched in red thread.
Publisher:: unpublished
Printer:: Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:: 3 known variant impressions of state IV
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Proof before the illustrated book edition of state VI on paper, and the illustrated book edition of state VII on fabric.

This impression is part of an initialed, but unpublished series.

There are several unpublished but signed formats of “The Laws of Nature:” a series on fabric, printed in black, in 2 known examples; a series on fabric, printed in red, in 1 known example; and a series on a scarf, printed in black, with the plates in a different order. (See the Evolving Composition Diagram.) The states of the plates within the various series sometimes differ from the states of the plates within the published editions.

There are also two sets of plates, printed in red, with no signatures. One set, from c. 2003, is on silk; the other, from c. 2006, is on paper. Since the prints in these sets have no signatures, the sets are not considered to be completed series.
State Changes and Additions:: Changes from state III in drypoint: female figure's second foot and shoe delineated; her hair further delineated; male figure's penis further delineated; male and female figures' heads and faces burnished away and reconfigured.
Background:: The artist told printer Felix Harlan that the figures in this series are playing an adult version of a French children's game, known as "faire des galipettes," meaning to do somersaults. In fact, the expression "faire des galipettes" is also slang for having sex, a punning reference that Bourgeois must have enjoyed.
Curatorial Remarks:: The dimensions of this impression could not be documented beacuse this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the published impression on paper in MoMA's Collection. Plate dimensions of fabric works often vary slightly due to stretching. Sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.

In contrast to the designation "illustrated book," which contains text, this catalogue designates as a "series" those instances where there is no text accompanying a group of related plates.