Cat. No. 817, unique variant 1, in 835
Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
- State/Variant:
- Only state, unique variant
- Date:
- 2007
- Series:
- Extreme Tension (View All)
- Alternate Title:
-
The God of Fertility
- Themes:
- Abstraction
- Techniques:
- Etching
- Description:
- panel (a): Soft ground etching, with ink and gouache additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with ink and gouache additions - Support:
- Paper (3 attached sheets)
- Dimensions:
- plate (a and c) (each): 59 5/8 × 14 5/16" (151.4 × 36.4 cm); sheet (overall): 58 1/4 × 59" (147.9 × 149.8 cm) (dimensions reflect full plate size; these are both partial prints)
- Signature:
- panel (c): "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
- Publisher:
- Osiris, New York
- Printer:
- Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH
- Edition:
- Unique
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- This is one of 4 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with another plate in a multi-panel work. They all include hand additions. When the plate is used alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with another plate, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.
See Evolving Composition Diagram:
Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
"The God of Fertility"
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, "The Voice Says Yes"
See Related Works in the Catalogue:
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, "Start Something!!"
This plate was not issued as a published edition. There are 3 known variant impressions of the only state, seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate. - State Changes and Additions:
- Matrices:
panel (a): For this panel, the plate is in the reverse orientation of the impressions of the only state in MoMA's Collection.
panel (c): For this panel, the plate is in the same orientation as the impressions of the only state in MoMA's Collection. - Background:
- Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.
- Installation Remarks:
- This composition is one of 11 that constitute a single work of art. All of these compositions are to be exhibited together and in the indicated sequence.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- The color of the hand additions and paper type could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from an impression in MoMA's Collection. The overall sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
- Public Collection:
- Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
The God of Fertility
2007-2009
States
Only state, variant
2007
Only state, variant
2007
Only state, variant
2007
Unique Variants
Only state, unique variant
2007
Only state, unique variant
2007
Only state, unique variant
2009
Series
2007
Series
2009
-
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
-
Louise Bourgeois,
Extreme Tension,
New York, Osiris, 2007The fragments of text inscribed within this series originated as parts of a longer text written by the artist c. 1959. Those fragments are recorded below by panel. Following the fragments is the original text.
No. 1:
Extreme Tension
No. 2:
My scalp forehead ears
The base of the skull
No. 3:
Back of the neck
The back between the shoulder blades
The base of the ribs
Solar plexus
No. 4:
The stomach
The esophagus
The throat
No. 5:
The intestines
The rectum
No. 6:
The arms forearms hands fingers
No. 7:
The legs thighs ankles toes
The pelvis bones
The joints
No. 8:
The pains and cramps
No. 9:
The breathing
The palpitations
The hot flashes
No. 10:
The perspiration
extreme extreme tension
No. 11:
The smell of the hunted animal
Original Text:
scalp
the forehead
the ears
the base of the skull
the back of the neck
the back between the shoulder blades
the base of the ribs --
the solar plexus --
the stomach the esophagus the throat --
the intestines -- the anus
the pelvis bones the joints
the legs thighs ankle toes
the arms forearms and hands
the breathing the tr [sic]
the palpitations
the hot flashes
the pains -- the cramps --
the sweaty smell of the stalked
animal extreme tension skunk very
little is known as to the when
chow, chow mein one day, localize
mum
Louise Bourgeois, c. 1959. Loose sheet: 10 x 8" (25.4 x 20.3 cm). LB-0768; © The Easton Foundation.
