Cat. No. 816, unique variant 2, in 835
Untitled, no. 11 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
- State/Variant:
- Only state, unique variant
- Date:
- 2007
- Series:
- Extreme Tension
- Alternate Title:
- Les Traces
- Themes
- Abstraction
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper (3 attached sheets)
- Dimensions:
- plate (a and c) (each): 55 11/16 × 19 5/16" (141.5 × 49 cm); sheet (overall): 54 1/8 × 67 1/2" (137.4 × 171.4 cm) (plate dimensions reflect full plate size; these are partial printings)
- Signature:
- panel (c): "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- Unique
- Edition Information:
- There are 2 unique variants made from the "Les Traces" plate. This unique variant has two impressions and is part of the series "Extreme Tension." The other unique variant is printed in red ink. Both are seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.
There are also 2 known cancellation proofs. One is in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 967.2011). - 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 work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the cancellation proof in MoMA's Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
- Description:
- panel (a): Soft ground etching
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching - State Changes and Additions:
- Matrices:
For this composition, the plate was printed upside down on panel (a) and right side up on panel (c). - 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.
Only state, unique variant
2007
Les Traces
2006-2007
Only state
2006
<i>Les Traces</i>
2006
Only state, unique variant
2006
<i>Les Traces</i>
2006
Only state, unique variant
2007
Untitled, no. 11 of 11, from the series, <i>Extreme Tension</i>
2007
Series
2007
Extreme Tension
2007
<i>Extreme Tension</i>
2007
Related Works in the Catalogue
Untitled, no. 6 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
Only state, unique variant
2007
Untitled, no. 6 of 11, from the series, <i>Extreme Tension</i>
2007
Louise Bourgeois,
Extreme Tension,
New York, Osiris, 2007The 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.