Louise Bourgeois. Who, Where, When, Why, What (1999)

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Louise Bourgeois. Who, Where, When, Why, What. 1999

IMAGE PERMISSIONS

Cat. No. 542.2/I, variant 2

Who, Where, When, Why, What

State/Variant:: Version 2 of 2, state I of VIII, variant
Date:: 1999

Themes:: Architecture, Words
Techniques:: Drypoint
Description:: Drypoint, with black, red, and blue ink additions
Support:: Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:: plate: 11 7/8 x 9 13/16" (30.1 x 25 cm); sheet: 14 7/8 x 11" (37.8 x 28 cm)
Signature:: "LB" lower right margin, pencil.
Inscription:: Verso: "Iodine #" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
Publisher:: unpublished
Printer:: Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:: 3 known variant impressions of version 2, state I
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Not issued as a published edition at any state.
State Changes and Additions:: Matrices:
The progression of version 2, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 3 plates.
Plate 1: contours of composition and shading of capital W’s, in drypoint; printed in red or black.
Plate 2: shading of house borders and segments of smoke, in aquatint; printed in red or black.
Plate 3: smoke spiral, reconfigured text, and contours of capital W’s in soft ground etching; printed in red or black.

State Changes:
Plate 1 printed in black.
Changes from version 1: composition reconfigured with text in boxes within a house shape, in drypoint.
Background:: In August of 1999, the Dalai Lama spoke at several well-attended events in New York City. Bourgeois's son, Jean-Louis, requested that his mother execute a benefit print to raise money for the Dalai Lama’s cause about a month prior to the speaking engagements. Although Bourgeois created this composition, the benefit project did not come to fruition and this print was never published.
Curatorial Remarks:: It is possible that the light gray strokes on this impression catalogued as black ink may in fact be faded iodine, as referenced in the verso inscription. According to Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, Bourgeois was experimenting with medicinal iodine as a drawing medium at the time. Three examples are seen below as Related Works in Other Mediums.

A variant impression of version 2, state IV was sold at Phillips, New York, “Editions” auction on November 23, 2008, as lot 90. The description lists a "numbered edition of 25 and 7 artist's proofs, published by Harlan & Weaver, New York." According to Felix Harlan of Harlan & Weaver, this composition was never published.
MoMA Credit Line:: Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:: 886.2008