The Bad Mother

Cat. No. 978

The Bad Mother

State/Variant:
Only state
Date:
1998
Alternate Title:
I Undo
Themes
Body Parts, Figures, Motherhood & Family
Techniques
Lithography
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
Louise Bourgeois
Printer
SOLO Impression
Edition:
100; plus 15 A.P., 4 P.P., 1 B.A.T.
Impression:
"AP 2" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand.
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.
Description:
Lithograph
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
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
129.2000
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

The Bad Mother

1998

Source

1999

I Undo or The Bad Mother
States
The Bad Mother

Related Works in the Catalogue

Untitled
The Good Mother
Jealousy Over the Breast
Good Mother, plate 17 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
The Good Mother
The Bad Mother

Related Works in Other Mediums

I Undo (interior component) from the 3-part installation, I Do, I Undo, I Redo
Mother and Child
Untitled
Untitled
Mother and Child