Cat. No. 353a/VI, variant 3
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book, The Laws of Nature
- State/Variant:
- State VI of VII
- Date:
- 2003
- Illustrated Book:
- The Laws of Nature
- Themes
- Figures
- Techniques
- Drypoint
- Support:
- Smooth, wove, Gangolf Ulbricht, Berlin, paper, watermarked "LB" in lower right corner
- Dimensions:
- plate: 4 3/4 x 5 3/4" (12 x 14.6 cm); page: 8 3/4 x 9 5/16" (22.3 x 23.7 cm)
- Signature:
- "Louise Bourgeois 2003" lower right margin, pencil.
"Louise Bourgeois" lower left colophon, pencil.
"Paulo Herkenhoff" lower right colophon, pencil. - Publisher
- Harlan & Weaver
- Printer
- Harlan & Weaver
- Printer of Text
- The Grenfell Press
- Edition:
- 25; plus 8 A.P., 6 P.P., 2 H.C., 1 B.A.T., 1 T.P., and an edition of 10 on fabric with 3 A.P., 2 P.P.
- Edition Information:
- Outside the published illustrated book editions on paper (2003) and on fabric (2006), there are several additional unpublished but signed formats: a series on fabric, printed in black, in 2 known examples; a series on fabric, printed in red, in 1 known example; and a series printed on a scarf, with plates in a different order, printed in black. (See the Evolving Composition Diagram.) The states of the plates within the various series sometimes differ from the states of the plates within the published editions.
There are also two sets of plates, printed in red, with no signatures. One set, from c. 2003, is on silk; the other, from c. 2006, is on paper. Since the prints in these sets have no signatures, the sets are not considered to be completed series. - Impression:
- "a.p. 6/8" lower right sheet, pencil, unknown hand.
- Background:
- The artist told printer Felix Harlan that the figures in this series are playing an adult version of a French children's game, known as "faire des galipettes," meaning to do somersaults. In fact, the expression "faire des galipettes" is also slang for having sex, a punning reference that Bourgeois must have enjoyed.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- The colophon notes that the essay by Paulo Herkenhoff was edited by Thyrza Goodeve.
A documentation sheet sent to MoMA from Harlan & Weaver in 2013 notes that there are 2 H.C. impressions and 1 T.P. included in the overall edition. These impressions are not noted in the edition information provided on the colophon.
In contrast to the designation "illustrated book," which contains text, this catalogue designates as a "series" those instances where there is no text accompanying a group of related plates. - Description:
- Drypoint, with selective wiping
- State Changes and Additions:
- Changes from state V in drypoint: female figure's shoulder, arm, breasts, torso, and thigh reconfigured; male figure's buttocks reconfigured, and his hair further delineated.
- Pagination:
- Folio 6 of 8 unnumbered folios
- Housing:
- Unbound. Slightly textured, wove paper wrapper. Publisher's clamshell box: navy blue (with letterpress name and title plate), made by Claudia Cohen Bookbinder, Seattle.
- Author Information:
- Paulo Herkenhoff is a Brazilian curator and critic who had a longstanding friendship, and professional relationship, with Bourgeois.
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 541.2005.4
- This Work in Other Collections:
- Tate Modern, London
State VI of VII
2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book, The Laws of Nature
2003-2006
State I of VII, variant
2000-2001
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
2000-2001
State I of VII, variant
2000-2001
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
2000-2001
State II of VII
2000-2001
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
2000-2001
State III of VII
2000-2001
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
2000-2001
State IV of VII, variant
2001
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
2001
State IV of VII, variant
c. 2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the series,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
State IV of VII, variant
c. 2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the series,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
State V of VII, variant
c. 2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the series,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
State V of VII, variant
c. 2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
State VI of VII, variant
c. 2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
State VI of VII, variant<br/>
c. 2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the series,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
State VI of VII
2003
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
2003
State VII of VII, variant
c. 2006
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2006
State VII of VII
2006
Untitled, plate 4 of 5, from the illustrated book,<i> The Laws of Nature</i>
2006
Illustrated Book
2003
The Laws of Nature
2003
<i>The Laws of Nature</i>
2003
Illustrated Book
2006
The Laws of Nature
2006
<i>The Laws of Nature</i>
2006
Series
c. 2003
The Laws of Nature
c. 2003
<i>The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
Series
2001-2003
The Laws of Nature
2001-2003
<i>The Laws of Nature</i>
2001-2003
Series
c. 2003
The Laws of Nature
c. 2003
<i>The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
Series
c. 2003
The Laws of Nature
c. 2003
<i>The Laws of Nature</i>
c. 2003
Related Works in the Catalogue
The Couple, plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, La Réparation
State XVII of XVII
2003
<i>The Couple</i>, plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio,<i> La Réparation</i>
2003
Related Works in Other Mediums
Couple
2001
Couple
2001
Medium: Fabric
Dimensions: overall: 19 x 6 x 6 1/2" (48.3 x 15.2 x 16.5 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Couple
2001
Couple
2001
Medium: Fabric
Dimensions: overall: 20 x 7 x 6" (50.8 x 17.8 x 15.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
The Couple
2007
The Couple
2007
Medium: Gouache and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 23 1/2 x 18" (59.7 x 45.7 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Le Bateau Adulte Enfant(The Laws of Nature)
1997
Le Bateau Adulte Enfant(The Laws of Nature)
1997
Medium: Ink, pencil, and correction fluid on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 x 22 5/8" (22.9 x 57.5 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Paulo Herkenhoff,
Notes on the Laws of Nature,
2003Desire challenges the laws of nature. It defies the rules of anatomy, gravity, time, and language. In the encounter between the body and desire, muscles and tissues gain elasticity and tonus, migrating beyond the logic of corporeal boundaries. Body language is the utterance of the unspeakable.
There is silence in desire. In the melody of the pas de deux, the bodies write themselves. One is inscribed in the other. The dance of desire is the calligraphy of seduction.
The language of the body is a topological choreography similar to a Moebius strip, where the actual continuity of One and the Other is a surface without inside and outside. What estrangement is possible? Fusion fears separation while phantoms anticipate it, leading lovers to melancholic fantasies of incorporation. It is the eve of loss. One body nourishes while one is nourished.
A print is the memory of the body of the Other in our body. The act of turning a page reiterates the action of lightly touching the Other. The dance of love passes through our fingers. Closing this book is wrapping the body in the memory of a precious moment.
Desire wants no end. Lovers experience suspended time. Amor fugit. The only fragile defense against time is the poetical belief in the imaginary quality of love as being eternal. The lovers hold each other and will not be separated. At the end, the world is totally upside-down.