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

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Cat. No. 353b/VI, variant 2

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

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

Themes:: Fabric Works, Figures
Techniques:: Drypoint
Description:: Drypoint, with selective wiping
Support:: Fabric
Dimensions:: plate: 4 3/4 x 5 13/16" (12 x 14.8 cm); sheet: 7 13/16 x 8 3/4" (19.9 x 22.3 cm)
Signature:: "LB" right lower margin, stitched in red thread.
Publisher:: unpublished
Printer:: Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:: 2 known variant impressions of state VI
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Proof outside the illustrated book edition of state VI on paper, and before 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This impression is part of an initialed, but unpublished series.

There are several unpublished but signed formats of “The Laws of Nature:” a series on fabric, printed in black, in 2 known examples; a series on fabric, printed in red, in 1 known example;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 V in drypoint: female figure's shoulder, arm, breasts, torso, and thigh reconfigured; male figure's buttocks reconfigured, and his hair further delineated.
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:: 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.
MoMA Credit Line:: Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:: 74.2012.4