Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

Cat. No. 444-452

Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

Date:
1998
Themes
Body Parts, Figures, Nature, Objects
Techniques
Aquatint, Drypoint, Etching
Support:
Smooth, wove Magnani Incisione paper
Dimensions:
sheet (each): 39 x 28 1/16" (99 x 71.2 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin each plate, pencil.
Publisher
Julie Sylvester-Cabot , Whitney Museum of American Art Editions
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
28; plus 12 A.P., 3 P.P., 1 H.C., 1 B.A.T.
Edition Information:
Pencil additions appear on plates 3, 4, and 8 of this portfolio. Another portfolio (A.P. 1/12) has comparable pencil additions on plates 3 and 4. It is not known whether pencil additions occur on plates across the edition.
Impression:
A.P. 5/12
Background:
According to Bourgeois’s assistant Jerry Gorovoy, topiary work interested Bourgeois because the cutting and healing of the plant makes the tree stronger. He also points out the portfolio's connection to Bourgeois’s sister, Henriette, who had a condition that caused stiffness in her leg. Bourgeois referred to this as, "in effect, a wooden leg."

Print publisher Julie Sylvester-Cabot founded the Whitney Museum of American Art Editions in 1996, with the purpose of raising funds to be used for acquisitions. The “Topiary” portfolio had its debut at the Whitney in a small 1998 exhibition that also included Bourgeois's 1985 sculpture titled, “Henriette.”
Description:
Portfolio with 9 compositions: all with etching and drypoint, 5 with aquatint, and 3 with hand additions
Housing:
Orange silk-wrapped portfolio cover with pink satin ribbon ties, lined with ivory wove paper.
Benefit Work:
For Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Artist’s Remarks:
Written on a loose sheet, c. 1990s:
“Topiary
The trainer, the teacher, the carver, the butcher
To reject (cut off) and be moral about it
That is the fun
To nurture and train to full potential (valuable, useful)
I am going to cut (reject) everything in sight because I did not get what I wanted
What
To be loved by 1, 2, 3, 4
c’est la peur […]”
(The Easton Foundation: LB-0050)
Installation Remarks:
The prints in this portfolio can be shown as a group, or individually.
Bibliography:
Manchester, Elizabeth. “Louise Bourgeois: Tree with Trunk, 1998.” Tate Modern website, 2003. www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bourgeois-tree-p78621/text-summary. Last accessed November 7, 2014.

This article connects themes in the portfolio to recurring themes in the whole of Bourgeois's artwork, such as amputation and mutilation, the use of trees and plants as a metaphor for the human psyche, and the emotional significance of color.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
416.1999.1-9
This Work in Other Collections:
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Tate Modern, London
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

From the portfolio

Untitled, plate 1 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 2 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 3 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 4 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 5 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 6 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 7 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 8 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Untitled, plate 9 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

Related Works in the Catalogue

Topiary
Embracing the Tree
Henriette
Topiary, plate 20 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
Untitled (Study for Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature)
Untitled (Three Trees), from the editioned series of portfolios, Les Arbres (1-6)
Untitled (Tall Tree), in Les Arbres (5), from the editioned series of portfolios, Les Arbres (1-6)

Related Works in Other Mediums

Topiary III
Topiary
Topiary
Les Lignes de Constructions Sont Invisibles
Untitled
Topiary
Topiary
Topiary
Henriette