Hours of the Day

Cat. No. 97.2-121.2

Hours of the Day

Date:
2006
Themes
Fabric Works, Music, Objects, Words
Techniques
Digital
Support:
Fabric
Dimensions:
sheet (each): 17 1/2 x 26 15/16" (44.5 x 68.5 cm)
Signature:
"LB" lower right of cover, stitched in red thread. "Louise Bourgeois" center of colophon, black ink. "Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin of no. 25, black ink.
Publisher
Lison Editions , Carolina Nitsch Editions
Printer
Dyenamix
Edition:
7; plus 2 A.P., and an illustrated book version with an edition of 15 with 3 A.P.
Impression:
"3/7" 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.

According to Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, 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.
Curatorial Remarks:
Themes:
In addition to Fabric Works I and Words, this portfolio also includes the themes Music and Objects.

Dimensions:
The illustrated book version of "Hours of the Day" preceded the portfolio version. The portfolio is considerably larger than the illustrated book.

Sheet 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:
Portfolio of 25 digital prints (including cover)
Installation Remarks:
This portfolio of twenty-five compositions constitutes a single work of art. All of these compositions are to be exhibited together and in the indicated sequence.
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:
1351.2009.1-25
This Work in Other Collections:
Tate Modern, London
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

From the portfolio

Hours of the Day, portfolio cover
Untitled, no. 1 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 2 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 3 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 4 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 5 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 6 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 7 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 8 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 9 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 10 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 11 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 12 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 13 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 14 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 15 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 16 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 17 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 18 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 19 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 20 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 21 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 22 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 23 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day
Untitled, no. 24 of 24, from the portfolio, Hours of the Day

Related Works in the Catalogue

Hours of the Day

Related Works in Other Mediums

The Ticking of the Clock: The Heartbeat
Hours of the Day
Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

Hours of the Day,

New York: Carolina Nitsch Editions and Lison Editions, 2006

Bourgeois'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'energie du matin n'est pas une
force centripete
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 Penelope
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