LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Alternate Title:

I Undo

Themes:

Body Parts, Figures, Motherhood & Family

Techniques:

Lithography

Description:

Lithograph

Support:

Smooth, wove Arches paper

Dimensions:

composition: 11 7/16 x 8 3/4" (29.1 x 22.3 cm); sheet: 16 1/16 x 12 13/16" (40 x 32.6 cm)

Signature:

"LB." lower right margin, pencil.

Publisher:

The artist

Printer:

SOLO Impression, New York

Edition:

100; plus 15 A.P., 4 P.P., 1 B.A.T.

Impression:

"AP 2" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand.

State Changes and Additions:

Matrices:
This composition included 3 lithography matrices.

Matrix 1: cream background.

Matrix 2: black marks in composition.

Matrix 3: gray marks in composition.

Benefit Work:

For "Abandon," a film by Pouran Esrafily

Background:

In 1994, Pouran Esrafily met Bourgeois while assisting a photographer for a magazine story on the artist. The two went on to collaborate on a performance based on Bourgeois's life and memories, with Esrafily playing the role of the artist in the piece. The performance took inspiration from Bourgeois's thoughts on her creative process: "Every day you must abandon your past or accept it and then if you cannot accept it, you become a sculptor."

Esrafily was also inspired to make a 16-minute experimental film about Bourgeois's childhood titled "Abandon." In 1998, Bourgeois proposed a benefit print to raise funds for a feature length version of the film, which was never completed. The idea of "the bad mother" referenced in the print was also addressed in the performance. Esrafily and Bourgeois remained close for many years, with Esrafily presiding over the Sunday Salons held by the artist at her home.

Curatorial Remarks:

Records are inconsistent regarding the number of A.P. impressions for this project. The Louise Bourgeois Studio notes 15 A.P. impressions, but there may have been 20 or 30 A.P. impressions.

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

129.2000

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY