LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Alternate Title:

Sexy Demeanor; The Sexy One; Slow Gait; The Gait

Themes:

Body Parts

Techniques:

Drypoint

Description:

Drypoint, with black ink and pencil additions

Support:

Smooth, wove paper

Dimensions:

plate: 6 15/16 x 4 15/16" (17.7 x 12.6 cm); sheet: 14 1/8 × 10 1/2" (35.9 × 26.6 cm)

Signature:

"L. Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.

Inscription:

"happy Birthday / 1989" lower left margin, pencil, artist's hand. Verso: "sexy demeanor / the Sexy one. / 1989" upper right sheet, pencil, artist's hand.

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

5 known impressions of version 1, only state

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

Proof before the editioning of version 2, only state.

Artist’s Remarks:

"This is not a self-portrait... this is Jerry [Gorovoy, the artist's assistant]. This is 'toi,' all the others are 'moi.' You see the structure is a man's body because the hips are narrow. When I sit on the stoop I look for Jerry coming down the street. Finally I spot him by his special size and gait."

"Someone can be recognized by the way he moves... it is very personal... the assurance or the fear in his movements reveals the state he is in. It can be constricted or it can be free. My own desire for the unconstricted is proven by my interest in reptiles... snakes, maggots, worms, caterpillars. They are all completely free because there is no bone... they undulate." Indicating the area of the hips Bourgeois said, "We undulate the best we can in this part of the body... even with the bones!" (Quotes cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 171)

Former Cat. No.:

W & S 104.1

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

551.1993

This Work in Other Collections:

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (3 impressions of version 1, only state)

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY