LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Alternate Title:

Tops

Descriptive Title:

English translation: "Spirals"

Themes:

Spirals

Techniques:

Etching

Description:

Etching

Support:

Smooth, wove Arches paper

Dimensions:

plate: 4 15/16 x 6 3/4" (12.5 x 17.2 cm); sheet: 9 15/16 x 12 15/16" (25 x 33 cm)

Signature:

"Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.

Publisher:

Galerie Lelong, Paris

Printer:

Piero Crommelynck, Paris

Edition:

50; plus 9 A.P.

Impression:

"EA IV/IX" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand.

Edition Information:

There are 8 known impressions of the only state, outside the edition.

Background:

In 1990, this plate was reprinted by Piero Crommelynck, Paris, at the direction of Galerie Lelong, Paris, at the same time as those from the 1940s that were being considered for their "Quarantania" portfolio, seen below in Related Works in the Catalogue. It was issued separately because it is not from the 1940s.

The 1990 reprints differ in appearance from the c. 1974 impressions, due to corrosion of the plates and accidental scratching over time. Also, professional printing with uniform inking and wiping creates a darker plate tone.

Artist’s Remarks:

"This is very friendly. The spirals function in space... they can organize themselves and relate to each other... they can dance... they are at ease.
But there are two kinds of spirals... starting at the outer, or starting inside. You can expand outward, because the present is unbearable... you can escalate in your vision to avoid what is at the center. But if you go outward and there is no limit, you can go too high... you can go crazy. This can be a metaphor for ambition that knows no limit. You must know your limits.... But there are dangers either way. If you go inward, you will wind tighter, like the spring of a watch. This is dangerous because you can get twisted, strangled by your emotions... you can snap, or you can throw up! What do people do under intense emotions?" (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 141.)

Former Cat. No.:

W & S 67

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

261.1992

This Work in Other Collections:

Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA
The National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design, Oslo, Norway
Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY