Cat. No. 667
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity, no. 9 of 9, from the series, What Is the Shape of This Problem?
- State/Variant:
- Components A and B: only state
- Date:
- 1999
- Series:
- What Is the Shape of This Problem?
- Themes
- Abstraction, Spirals, Words
- Techniques
- Relief
- Support:
- Smooth, wove Arches paper
- Dimensions:
- sheet (component A): 12 × 17" (30.5 × 43.2 cm); sheet (component B): 12 × 17" (30.5 × 43.2 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" right lower sheet (each), pencil.
- Publisher
- Galerie Lelong , Galerie Lelong
- Printer
- SOLO Impression
- Edition:
- 25; plus 14 A.P. (3 are isolated pairs of text-image diptychs), 4 P.P., 3 T.P., 2 H.C., 1 B.A.T.
- Edition Information:
- In an unusual numbering system for the A.P.s, numbers 1-11 were given to complete sets, but numbers 12, 13, and 14 were given to isolated pairs of text-image diptychs, according to printer Judith Solodkin of SOLO Impression. Solodkin does not recall which specific diptychs were numbered 12, 13, and 14.
There is an additional known impression of component A, only state, outside the edition, in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 1421.2008). It is not illustrated due to its similarity to the impression seen here.
There are 2 known variant impressions of component B, only state, outside the edition, seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. - Impression:
- "AP 2" left lower sheet (each), pencil, unknown hand.
- Background:
- The text in this series was taken from Bourgeois's diary entries, spanning some forty years. The images are based on drawings created in the 1990s. Printer Judith Solodkin of SOLO Impression made photo-enlargements of the drawings and transferred them to letterpress plates.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- A tote bag merchandise item was made from this composition. The whole series was reproduced on a set of note cards as a merchandise item.
- Description:
- Letterpress
- Installation Remarks:
- Each diptych in this series constitutes a single composition and must be exhibited in a vertical configuration as illustrated, or alternatively, with the text on top of the image. The diptychs in the series may be exhibited together or separately, and there is no required sequence.
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 135.2000.10a-b
- This Work in Other Collections:
- Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich, Switzerland
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Tate Modern, London
Components A and B: only state
1999
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity , no. 9 of 9, from the series, What Is the Shape of This Problem?
1999
Source
2000
Les Concentriques et Les Spirales?
2000
Les Concentriques et Les Spirales?
2000
Medium: Ink on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 × 11 1/2" (22.9 × 29.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Related Works in the Catalogue
Related Works in Other Mediums
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity
2000
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity
2000
Medium: Pencil on colored paper
Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
2002
Untitled
2002
Medium: Ink on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 8 x 9 1/2" (20.3 x 24.1 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
1998
Untitled
1998
Medium: Ink on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 x 12" (22.9 x 30.5 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
2001
Untitled
2001
Medium: Pencil and ink on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 10 3/4 x 7 1/2" (27.3 x 19.1 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
1998
Untitled
1998
Medium: Pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 × 11 5/8" (22.9 × 29.5 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity
1999
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity
1999
Medium: Lead and steel
Dimensions: overall: 8 1/4 × 18 1/4 × 1/2" (21 × 46.4 × 1.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Louise Bourgeois,
What Is the Shape of This Problem?,
New York: Galerie Lelong, 1999No. 9 of 9
Art is a guaranty of sanity