Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 2 of 5, from the illustrated book, The Laws of Nature (c. 2006)

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Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 2 of 5, from the illustrated book, The Laws of Nature. c. 2006

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Cat. No. 351/X, variant

Untitled, plate 2 of 5, from the illustrated book, The Laws of Nature

State/Variant:: State X of X, variant
Date:: c. 2006

Themes:: Figures
Techniques:: Drypoint, Engraving
Description:: Drypoint and engraving
Support:: Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:: plate: 4 3/4 x 5 7/8" (12 x 14.9 cm); sheet: 8 1/8 x 8 1/2" (20.7 x 21.6 cm)
Signature:: Not signed
Publisher:: unpublished
Printer:: Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:: 1 known impression of state X, outside the edition on fabric
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Proof after the illustrated book edition of state IX on paper, and outside the illustrated book edition of state X on fabric.

This impression is part of a set of plates printed in red on paper, but none of the impressions in this set are initialed and therefore the set is not considered a completed series. There is another set of plates, from c. 2003, printed in red on silk, with no signatures. This set is also not considered to be a completed 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There are several unpublished but signed formats of “The Laws of Nature:” a series on fabric, printed in black, in 2 known examples; a series on fabric, printed in red, in 1 known example;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 printed on a scarf, with plates in a different order, printed in black. (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.
State Changes and Additions:: Changes from state IX in engraving: lines reinforced overall.
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.
MoMA Credit Line:: Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:: 69.2012