Untitled, plate 5 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

Cat. No. 448/III

Untitled, plate 5 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

State/Variant:
State III of III
Date:
1998
Portfolio:
Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature
Themes
Body Parts, Figures, Nature
Techniques
Aquatint, Drypoint, Etching
Support:
Smooth, wove Magnani Incisione paper
Dimensions:
plate: 29 13/16 x 21 3/4" (75.7 x 55.3 cm); sheet: 39 3/16 x 27 7/8" (99.5 x 70.8 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois 1998" lower right margin, 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:
While no pencil additions appear on this plate, pencil additions do appear on plates 3, 4, and 8 of this portfolio and plates 3 and 4 of another portfolio (A.P. 1/12). It is not known whether pencil additions occur on portfolios across the edition.
Impression:
"a.p. 5/12" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand.
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.”
Curatorial Remarks:
The compositions for plates 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the “Topiary” portfolio are related and appear to have shared some of the same source drawings and photocopy studies. Known studies are illustrated below in the Evolving Composition Diagram, and as Related Works in the Catalogue, for each plate.
Descriptive Title:
Amputee
Description:
Drypoint, etching, and aquatint
State Changes and Additions:
Matrices:
The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 2 plates.

Plate 1: line elements of composition; printed in black.

Plate 2: shading of arm and leg stumps; printed in pink.

State Changes:
Plate 1 printed over plate 2.
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:
416.1999.5
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

Untitled, plate 5 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

1998

Source

1997

Untitled

Source

1997

Untitled
Studies
Untitled (Study for Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature)
States
Untitled, plate 5 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 5 of 9, from the portfolio, Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

Portfolio

1998

Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature

Related Works in the Catalogue

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
Henriette
Topiary, plate 20 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
Untitled (Study for Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature)
Untitled (Study for Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature)
Untitled (Study for Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature)

Related Works in Other Mediums

Topiary III
Topiary
Topiary
You Ask Me Too Much
Henriette