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

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION

Cat. No. 353e/IV, variant 3

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

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

Themes:: Fabric Works, Figures
Techniques:: Drypoint
Description:: Drypoint
Support:: Silk
Dimensions:: overall: 8 x 52 1/2" (20.3 x 133.4 cm)
Signature:: "LB" right lower sheet, black ink.
Edition:: 3 known variant impressions of state IV (1 on a scarf)
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Proof before the illustrated book edition of state VI on paper, and the illustrated book edition of state VII on fabric.

This impression is part of a series on a scarf, with the plates in a different order from the published editions. For consistency, the plate numbers for the untitled compositions remain the same throughout this project. The order on the scarf is as follows: plate 1, plate 4, plate 3, plate 2, plate 5. This composition is plate 4, but it appears as the second plate on the scarf.

There are several other unpublished but signed formats of “The Laws of Nature:” a series on fabric, printed in black, in 2 known examples, and a series on fabric, printed in red, in 1 known example. (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 VIII in drypoint: both figure's hands reconfigured; male figure's hair reconfigured, his right knee and left calf slightly reconfigured.
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:: The dimensions of this impression could not be documented beacuse this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the published impression on paper in MoMA's Collection. Plate dimensions of fabric works often vary slightly due to stretching. Sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.

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.