Cat. No. 730/I, variant 2
merci. mercy.
- State/Variant:
- State I of III, variant
- Date:
- 1992
- Themes:
- Words
- Techniques:
- Drypoint
- Description:
- Drypoint, with black ink and puncture hole additions
- Support:
- Smooth, wove paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 17 3/4 x 27 3/8" (45.1 x 69.6 cm); sheet: 20 3/4 × 28 1/2" (52.7 × 72.4 cm)
- Signature:
- Not signed
- Publisher:
- unpublished
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 2 known impressions of state I
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- Proof before the editioning of state III.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Additions by puncture: holes through sheet added in many indentations, throughout several letters.
- Background:
- State III of this composition was published as a benefit for Documenta IX, 1992.
Bourgeois created this plate by hammering a nail through thin roofing copper.
The artist employed a similar technique in the print compositions “Tornado,” 1991-1992, and “We Love You,” 1992, seen in Related Works in the Catalogue below. - Artist’s Remarks:
- "I want much more than thank you... I want forgiveness... I ask for mercy. Who is at fault? Who is the culprit? Is it you, or is it me? I would rather make it my trouble... then I could take care of it... I could become active instead of passive." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. “The Prints of Louise Bourgeois.” New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 209.)
- Curatorial Remarks:
- According to printer Felix Harlan of Harlan & Weaver, the runny effect seen in this impression was accidental. The hammered plate was experimental and required tests using varying amounts of pressure on the plate as well as varying ink viscosity.
- Former Cat. No.:
- W & S 123
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 633.1993
- This Work in Other Collections:
- National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY