Self Portrait

Cat. No. 706

Self Portrait

Date:
2009
Themes
Body Parts, Fabric Works, Faces & Portaits, Figures, Motherhood & Family, Objects
Techniques
Drypoint
Dimensions:
overall: 33 3/4 × 47 3/4" (85.7 × 121.3 cm)
Signature:
"LB" right lower margin, stitched in red thread.
Publisher
Louise Bourgeois
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
The drypoint collage elements of this work are described here and seen below in Related Works in the Catalogue.

At top middle: Untitled, 2009. Drypoint.
This is 1 of 3 known impressions of state I of II.

Inside center clock: "Arch of Hysteria," plate 19 of 24 from the series, "Self Portrait," 2009. Drypoint.
This is the only known impression of state II of II, outside the edition.
Background:
This fabric collage is one of eight unique fabric clock works Bourgeois made, all in 2009, which incorporate various compositions printed on fabric. The other seven are included in Related Works in the Catalogue below.

According to the Louise Bourgeois Studio, the other unique fabric clock work titled "Self Portrait," 2009 is the first such work Bourgeois made (see the third work in Related Works in the Catalogue below).
Curatorial Remarks:
The four compositions incorporated in this fabric collage are printed on individual fabric sheets and stitched onto the overall fabric sheet.

The center clock's outline and hands are stitched into the overall fabric sheet in brown thread; the clock's numbers and center point are stitched in red thread.

The music staves in the two compositions on either side of the center clock are digitally printed. Those two clocks' numbers and outlines are stitched in red thread; the clocks' hands are stitched in black thread; and the clocks' center points are stitched in blue thread.

The two compositions on either side of the center clock, and the overall fabric sheet, have light staining or scorching as is commonly found in the old fabrics Bourgeois chose to use as printing surfaces.

Due to the nature of the mounting and framing of this work, the verso could not be examined.
Description:
Fabric collage, with 2 drypoints, and stitching
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of Jean-Louis Bourgeois and Alain Bourgeois
MoMA Accession Number:
762.2013
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Self Portrait

2009

Collage
Self Portrait

Related Works in the Catalogue

Untitled, no. 5 of 24, from the illustrated book, Hours of the Day
The Waiting Hours
Arch of Hysteria, plate 19 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
Untitled
Eternity
The Long Night
Self Portrait
Nature Study
Polar Star
The Long Night II

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Untitled (Clocks)
Insomnia
My Day
Hours of the Day