LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Themes:

Nature

Techniques:

Drypoint

Description:

Drypoint, with selective wiping

Support:

Smooth, wove paper

Dimensions:

plate: 11 7/8 x 8 15/16" (30.1 x 22.7 cm); sheet: 16 1/8 x 11" (41 x 28 cm)

Signature:

Not signed

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

1 known impression of state II

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

Not issued as a published edition at any state.

State Changes and Additions:

Changes from state I, in drypoint: overall composition further delineated, including the addition of many rivers in South America and Africa.

Background:

According to Felix Harlan, of Harlan & Weaver, New York, Bourgeois's map compositions stem from her desire to sort through memories and associations with different places. The artist used preexisting maps as references for her own abstracted compositions, excluding the information essential to map reading. In this way, the maps served more as personal documents for the artist, rather than as references or guides.

This composition was begun in June 1995, while Bourgeois was thinking about an upcoming show in Brazil and began musing about the Tango. While affirming the Latin American origin of the dance, Bourgeois also felt it had some connection with Scandinavia. In pondering such associations, she had the idea to use the Tango as a symbolic link between the Americas and Europe, but the project remained unfinished.

Curatorial Remarks:

According to Felix Harlan of Harlan & Weaver, the pock marks visible in the state IV impressions were likely found in the plate before any composition was added, as Bourgeois occasionally chose to work with distressed plates. The fact that the pock marks are not visible in states I-III is likely the result of careful wiping on the part of the printers.

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

644.1996

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY