Cat. No. 590.2, variant 1

Crochet I (Le Cauchemar de Hayter)

State/Variant:: Version 2 of 2, only state, variant
Date:: 1997-1998

Themes: Abstraction
Techniques: Other Techniques
Support:: Smooth, wove handmade paper
Dimensions:: sheet: 33 1/4 × 26 1/4" (84.5 × 66.7 cm)
Signature:: "LB" right lower sheet, pencil.
Publisher: unpublished
Printer: Mixografia Workshop
Edition:: 3 known variant impressions of version 2, only state, outside the edition
Edition Information:: Proof before the editioning of version 2, only state.
Impression:: Not numbered
Background:: The source for both versions of this composition is Untitled, no. 65 of 220, from the 1995 series, "The Insomnia Drawings." While the first version is a stand-alone print, the second version, "Crochet I," is part of the series "Crochet I-V."

The Mixografia® technique is a unique fine art printing process that allows for the production of three-dimensional prints with texture and very fine surface detail. With this process, the artist creates a model or maquette with any solid material or combination of materials on which he or she incises, impresses, carves, collages, or builds-up in relief the image to be reproduced. Copy plates are molded from the maquette, and the edition is printed on handmade paper pulp which can withstand the extreme pressure of a three-dimensional press.

Bourgeois was approached by Mixografia® Workshop with the proposal to make an edition. After seeing examples of the sculptural possibilities of the medium, she agreed to participate. “Crochet I-V” takes inspiration from various drawings of meandering, twisting lines, which Bourgeois felt were particularly well-suited for the medium. With the help of Judith Solodkin of SOLO Impression, New York, Bourgeois used red string as a drawing tool to create a series of linear compositions and a representation of a woman’s braided hair. The maquettes were then cast at the Mixografia® workshop into copper plates, which were hand-inked and pressed with handmade paper.

Mixografia® was developed by the printmaker Luis Remba in the early 1970s at his workshop in Mexico City. Remba devised the technique while working with the painter Rufino Tamayo, who wanted his prints to have more volume and texture. Among the many artists who have collaborated with Remba are Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland, Larry Rivers, Ed Ruscha, and Tom Wesselmann. The workshop has been in Los Angeles since 1983.
Curatorial Remarks:: Stanley William Hayter founded the print workshop Atelier 17, which he relocated from Paris to New York during WWII. Bourgeois worked there intermittenly until 1949, enjoying the company of an array of international artists. Bourgeois found Hayter intimidating as he demonstrated engraving, but remembered feeling useful in the shop because she could facilitate communication with the artists who spoke only French. "Reply to Stanley Hayter," seen below in Related Works in Other Mediums, is another work that references the printmaker.

Version 1, "Le Cauchemar de Hayter," is one of four lithographs published in conjunction with Bourgeois's presentation at the XXIII International São Paulo Biennial. The three other lithographs published for the occasion are "Insomnia," "Insomnia," and "Mirror for Red Room," seen in Related Works in the Catalogue below.

The color of the hand additions is not documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person.
Descriptive Title:: English translation: "Hayter's Nightmare"
Description:: Mixografia®, with watercolor and gouache additions
State Changes and Additions:: Changes from version 1: composition rendered in Mixografia with slight changes due to the process involved (see Background).
Artist’s Remarks:: Inscribed on the verso of the source drawing: "Le cauchemar de Hayter / fil conducteur / ligne tirée, ligne poussée" lower left to lower right sheet, red ink, artist's hand.

About the source drawing, 1995: "So this appears lately as a solution. It is a solution of continuity; that is to say, it is a symbol of something that is totally continuous and harmonious along the length of the day. With no up and no down and everything readable, clear. I want to be readable, you see." (Quote cited in Bourgeois, Louise and Lawrence Rinder. "Louise Bourgeois Drawings and Observations." Berkeley: University Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive University of California, Berkeley; Boston: Bulfinch Press, 1995, p. 184.)
Other Remarks:: According to the artist's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, Bourgeois was interested in creating new shapes and forms through the act of weaving, twisting, and knotting material. This interest is most evident in the fabric works and is also referenced and represented in various works on paper.