Progression

Cat. No. 549.1/II, variant

Progression

State/Variant:
Version 1 of 2, state II of II, variant
Date:
1990
Themes
Abstraction, Animals & Insects, Spirals
Techniques
Aquatint, Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove BFK Rives paper
Dimensions:
plate: 16 3/4 x 9 15/16" (42.6 x 25.3 cm); sheet: 26 x 19 11/16" (66 x 50 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Gravure
Edition:
4 known impressions of version 1, state II
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of version 2.
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
Version 2 of this composition was published as a benefit for the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc.
Curatorial Remarks:
Bourgeois admired the printing facilities of the Gravure workshop and also felt a personal rapport with the owner and master printer, Christian Guérin. Guérin helped the artist develop plates for several important projects in the early 1990s.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S 113.1
Description:
Drypoint and aquatint, with selective wiping, and pencil additions
Inscription:
Impressions of version 1, state II that are not illustrated include the following inscriptions: "1990" and "Artist proof"
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from version 1, state I, in aquatint: composition reinforced overall.
Artist’s Remarks:
"This is a maggot... it is a larva that will turn into a mouche [fly]. In France, when I was a child, we were invaded by flies from March to November. Part of the work day was to fight the flies. Flies, tics, mosquitos, gnats... they represent constant trouble.

"This concerns the treatment of your demons... of your enemies. You turn your relationship with your enemy into a work of art. How are you going to do it? You have to enter into a dialogue with your enemies. You have to figure them out... you have to understand them to get rid of them... those nasty memories." (Quotes cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 189.)

On personal stationary dated August 6, 1990, Bourgeois noted: " 'Progression' is a visual rendering of the thought: / tomorrow will be better. / Louise Bourgeois."

When discussing the related white-on-black 1989 pastel and gouache on paper (illustrated below), Bourgeois commented, "These are maggots. It looks like a very negative subject. In fact, it is not a negative subject at all. In fact, if I were religious, I would say that it is the theme of the resurrection. So it means that however hard things are, there is still hope if you believe in maggots. Something has decomposed, and it is from that decomposition that hope comes again." (Quote cited in Bourgeois, Louise and Lawrence Rinder. "Louise Bourgeois Drawings and Observations." Berkeley: University Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive University of California, Berkeley; Boston: Bulfinch Press, 1995, p. 162.)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
521.1993
This Work in Other Collections:
The British Museum, London
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Progression

1990

First Version
Progression
Progression
Progression
Second Version
Progression
Progression

Related Works in the Catalogue

The Song of the Blacks and the Blues
La Mère et l'Enfant
Spiral Woman, plate 2 of 7, from the portfolio, La Réparation
Cocoon, plate 6 of 7, from the portfolio, La Réparation
Untitled, plate 1 of 8, from the puritan
Untitled, no. 12 of 12, from the portfolio, Anatomy

Related Works in Other Mediums

Spiral Woman
Lair
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Labyrinthine Tower
Untitled