LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Descriptive Title:

Drips, Large Plate; Narrow Spiral; Wide Spiral

Themes:

Abstraction, Spirals

Techniques:

Aquatint, Drypoint

Description:

Aquatint and drypoint, with chine collé

Support:

Smooth, wove paper, with cream chine collé and crease from being folded down the center

Dimensions:

plate (a): 14 7/8 × 11 7/8" (37.8 × 30.1 cm); plate (b): 6 7/8 × 4 15/16" (17.5 × 12.6 cm); plate (c): 6 7/8 × 4" (17.5 × 10.1 cm); sheet: 21 5/8 × 32 3/4" (55 × 83.2 cm)

Signature:

Not signed

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH

Edition:

1 known impression of the triptych version

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

Not issued as a published edition at any state.

The plates (components A, B, and C) that appear in this triptych also appear on their own and in a diptych (components A and B). (See Evolving Composition Diagram.)

The plate used in component C was also issued as part of a two-plate composition for the edition of "The Ladder of Success," seen in Related Works in the Catalogue.

Background:

In 1989, to help Bourgeois prepare for what would be a major project together, "the puritan," Ben Shiff of Osiris, New York, provided her with test plates on which she made various technical experiments. See Related Works in the Catalogue.

Curatorial Remarks:

This composition is printed on a signature (a sheet that is folded once and comprises 4 pages). If the sheet is folded, the plates appear on page 2 and 3 of 4. The sheet is shown open here.

Former Cat. No.:

W & S B3, B6, and B7

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

647.1993

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY