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Matrices: The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 6 blocks and 14 colors.
Block 1: woman, table, vase, wall, and floor.
Block 2: linear pattern in lower right composition and amorphous pattern in upper left composition.
Block 3: background surface with cut-away area encompassing woman and table.
Block 4: geometric pattern in upper left, abstract pattern in top center, and abstract form in bottom center.
Block 5: recut image of block 1.
Block 6: recut image of block 2.
State Changes and Additions:
Block 1 printed in black, over block 1 printed in dark gray-blue, over block 4 printed in blue, over block 2 printed in brown, over block 3 printed in yellow. Change from version 1, state VIII: block 4 added.
Artist’s Remarks:
“Dream is a self-portrait,” Bourgeois said, “a portrait of a mood, a very dark mood. The woman is crying. She is homesick. She is probably waiting for a letter, a letter that never comes.” (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 41.)
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