Cat. No. 97.1-121.1
Hours of the Day
- Date:
- 2006
- Themes
- Fabric Works, Music, Objects, Words
- Techniques
- Digital
- Dimensions:
- page (each): 13 x 9" (33 x 22.8 cm); overall: 13 x 10 5/8 x 2 3/16" (33 x 27 x 5.5 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" lower right front of cover, stitched in red thread. "Louise Bourgeois" lower center of colophon, black ink.
- Publisher
- Carolina Nitsch Editions , Lison Editions
- Printer
- Dyenamix
- Edition:
- 15; plus 3 A.P., 1 P.P., and a portfolio version with an edition of 7 with 2 A.P.
- Impression:
- "6/15" lower center of colophon, black ink, unknown hand.
- Background:
- Lison Editions is a name Bourgeois adopted when she published works herself, late in her life. "Lison" is a nickname she had as a child. The full list of her nicknames is: Lise, Lison, Lisette, Louison, Louisette.
Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, provided the following information: The cover pattern for "Hours of the Day" derives from a garment Bourgeois owned--a scarf or a blouse, while the change from light to dark is a digitally printed effect. The background of the pages is printed to resemble music paper, which Bourgeois favored for drawings and can be found in her work as far back as the early 1940s. She returned to it as a drawing surface in 1994-95, at the time of her "Insomnia Drawings" series, when she listened to music during the night. - Curatorial Remarks:
- Dimensions:
The illustrated book version of "Hours of the Day" preceded the portfolio version. The portfolio is considerably larger than the illustrated book.
Page dimensions vary slightly because of hemming and stretching fluctuations.
Formats:
The cover and each two-page spread of the illustrated book have corresponding sheets in the portfolio. The cover images of the illustrated book and portfolio are similar, however, the image on the cover of the illustrated book continues onto its verso and the facing page (constituting the "endpapers"). Also, in the spreads of the illustrated book, the compositions are divided into two sections to accommodate the gutter.
The illustrated book and portfolio were created independently using separate digital files; therefore, minor differences occur between the texts. - Description:
- Fabric illustrated book with 25 digital prints (including cover)
- Pagination:
- 49 unnumbered pages, including the colophon.
- Housing:
- Bound. Clamshell box.
- Author Information:
- The texts come from Bourgeois's daybooks, which she kept for each year up until the very last years of her life. She used them for appointments, and also annotated them with short texts and drawings.
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 332.2009.1-25
- This Work in Other Collections:
- Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Tate Modern, London
From the illustrated book
Untitled, no. 1 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 1 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 2 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 2 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 3 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 3 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 4 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 4 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 5 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 5 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 6 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 6 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Hours of the Day, illustrated book cover
2006
<i>Hours of the Day</i>, illustrated book cover
2006
Untitled, no. 7 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 7 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 8 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 8 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 9 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 9 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 10 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 10 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 11 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 11 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 12 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 12 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 13 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 13 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 14 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 14 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 15 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 15 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 16 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 16 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 17 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 17 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 18 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 18 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 19 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 19 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 20 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 20 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 21 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 21 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 22 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 22 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 23 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 23 of 24, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Untitled, no. 24 of 24, version 1 of 2, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
2006
Untitled, no. 24 of 24, version 1 of 2, from the illustrated book, <i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Related Works in the Catalogue
To Whom It May Concern
2009-2010
<i>To Whom It May Concern</i>
2009-2010
Dawn
2006
<i>Dawn</i>
2006
Hours of the Day
2006
<i>Hours of the Day</i>
2006
Related Works in Other Mediums
The Ticking of the Clock: The Heartbeat
2008
The Ticking of the Clock: The Heartbeat
2008
Medium: Series of 12 drawings in gouache and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet (each): 23 1/2 x 18" (59.7 x 45.7 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Hours of the Day
2006
Hours of the Day
2006
Medium: Series of 12 drawings stitched on fabric
Dimensions: sheet (each): 9 1/2 × 8" (24.1 × 20.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Louise Bourgeois,
Hours of the Day,
New York: Carolina Nitsch Editions and Lison Editions, 2006Bourgeois's entire text for this portfolio appears on the compositions cited below.
No. 1 of 24
I am waiting for you
I will not abandon you
I can wait for you
I will wait for you
Do not abandon me
No. 2 of 24
House arrest
Agoraphobia
No. 3 of 24
My breasts are flat
Empty
What am I to do but wait
-for what?
It’s going to be too late
No. 4 of 24
Le Procrastinator
No. 5 of 24
The clock that has stopped
Nothing
Nobody
Nowhere
No one
No. 6 of 24
I need to hear your voice
every day at 11 AM
to know if you are here
No. 7 of 24
The return of the hero
Long time no see
No. 8 of 24
C'est le jour des pardons
des petits pardons
No. 9 of 24
I want to be loved for myself
incognito
No. 10 of 24
In depression
the motion of the possible
is reversed
and replaced by the impossible
No. 11 of 24
What did you do for twenty years?
You have wasted your time
The woman who has lost her life
She has cooked, housecleaned, sewn
washed, done the stairs, the windows,
the floors, the fish and the soup
No. 12 of 24
La matinée
Le déjeuner
L'après-midi, je monte à 5 heures
faire la couverture
La soirée
La nuit
Je ne perds pas vue ni le passé
ni l'avenir
I stay on top of my inquiétude
No. 13 of 24
Ugly today
Ugly tomorrow
Ugly for ever
No. 14 of 24
Turning round like sick pig
It was urgent yesterday
It is not urgent today
No. 15 of 24
L'énergie du matin n'est pas une
force centripète
La fatigue du soir a une
force centrifuge
No. 16 of 24
I am on the other side of despair
and this happens to me 4 times a day
I am fed up
I want to give up and see no one
Finish, hopeless, good evening
No. 17 of 24
All my actions today
will aim to avoid
the things that I have to do
No. 18 of 24
J'aimais les jours de Pénélope
Oublie-la
No. 19 of 24
Emptiness in time and in space
I need emptiness
The garden is beautiful and empty
My future, my days
are all clear and empty
I have time
No. 20 of 24
Back and forth
Rhythm of the clock
The planet is a clock turning and ticking
You have to get in step
with the ticking of the world
Then it is all right
No. 21 of 24
Your sudden perception of beauty
is what keeps you going
step by step along the way
No. 22 of 24
Eruption of the unconscious
Place it in magistracy
Place it in history
Place it in time
No. 23 of 24
Renewal
Reconciliation
Sunrise
Buds on tree branches
Birds return
Only lint is beyond redemption
Arrival of the crackles
No. 24 of 24
Echo of the morning
Return of the light
The admiration towards
the loved object
is infinite