Untitled, no. 1 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension

Cat. No. 765, unique variant 2, in 835

Untitled, no. 1 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2007
Series:
Extreme Tension
Themes
Body Parts
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper (3 attached sheets)
Dimensions:
plate (a and c) (each): 59 3/4 × 14 3/8" (151.8 × 36.5 cm) (dimensions reflect full plate size; these are both partial prints); sheet (overall): 58 7/16 × 64" (148.5 × 162.5 cm)
Signature:
panel (a): "Louise Bourgeois" lower center comp., pencil.
panel (c): "Louise / Bourgeois" lower center comp., pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 5 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. When the plate is printed alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with other plates, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
"Extreme Tension"
Untitled, no. 1 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
"Ce N'est Pas Ta Faute"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
"Don't Swallow Me!"
"À Qui la Faute"

"Extreme Tension" was not issued as a published edition. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.
Curatorial Remarks:
The paper type could not be documented because this impression is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the impression in MoMA’s Collection. The overall sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
panel (a): Soft ground etching, with red ink additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with red ink additions
Installation Remarks:
This composition is one of 11 that constitute a single work of art. All of these compositions are to be exhibited together and in the indicated sequence.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Extreme Tension

2006-2008

States
Extreme Tension
Unique Variants
Extreme Tension
Untitled, no. 1 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
Ce N'est Pas Ta Faute

Series

2007

Extreme Tension

Related Works in the Catalogue

Untitled, no. 6 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
Marriage, plate 5 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
À Qui la Faute
Untitled
Hands
Don't Swallow Me!
Untitled (no. 28) in 10 AM Is When You Come to Me (set 8), from the series of installation sets (1-10)
Untitled (no. 7) in 10 AM Is When You Come to Me (set 8), from the series of installation sets (1-10)
My Hand

Related Works in Other Mediums

Give or Take
Décontractée
Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

Extreme Tension,

New York, Osiris, 2007

The fragments of text inscribed within this series originated as parts of a longer text written by the artist c. 1959. Those fragments are recorded below by panel. Following the fragments is the original text.

No. 1:
Extreme Tension

No. 2:
My scalp forehead ears
The base of the skull

No. 3:
Back of the neck
The back between the shoulder blades
The base of the ribs
Solar plexus

No. 4:
The stomach
The esophagus
The throat

No. 5:
The intestines
The rectum

No. 6:
The arms forearms hands fingers

No. 7:
The legs thighs ankles toes
The pelvis bones
The joints

No. 8:
The pains and cramps

No. 9:
The breathing
The palpitations
The hot flashes

No. 10:
The perspiration
extreme extreme tension

No. 11:
The smell of the hunted animal

Original Text:
scalp
the forehead
the ears
the base of the skull
the back of the neck
the back between the shoulder blades
the base of the ribs --
the solar plexus --
the stomach the esophagus the throat --
the intestines -- the anus
the pelvis bones the joints
the legs thighs ankle toes
the arms forearms and hands
the breathing the tr [sic]
the palpitations
the hot flashes
the pains -- the cramps --
the sweaty smell of the stalked
animal extreme tension skunk very
little is known as to the when
chow, chow mein one day, localize
mum

Louise Bourgeois, c. 1959. Loose sheet: 10 x 8" (25.4 x 20.3 cm). LB-0768; © The Easton Foundation.