Cat. No. 757, unique variant 1, in 835
Untitled, no. 9 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
- State/Variant:
- Only state, unique variant
- Date:
- 2007
- Series:
- Extreme Tension
- Alternate Title:
- Abandoned
- Themes
- Abstraction, Body Parts
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper (3 attached sheets)
- Dimensions:
- plate (a and c) (each): 60 3/8 × 19 7/8" (153.4 × 50.5 cm); sheet (overall): 58 7/16 × 65 1/4" (148.5 × 165.7 cm) (plate dimensions reflect full plate size; these are both partial prints)
- Signature:
- panel (c): "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- Unique
- Edition Information:
- This 3 panel work is one of 2 unique variants made from the same plate used in the edition "Abandoned," seen below in the Evolving Composition Diagram. Both unique variants include extensive hand additions and are listed below:
Untitled, plate 9 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
Untitled, no. 4 of 5, from the series, "When Did This Happen?" - 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 and color of the hand additions 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 impression on paper in MoMA’s Collection. The overall sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
- Description:
- panel (a): Soft ground etching, with ink, watercolor, gouache, and pencil additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with ink, watercolor, gouache, and pencil 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.
Only state, unique variant
2007
Abandoned
2007
Only state, variant
2007
<i>Abandoned</i>
2007
Only state
2007
<i>Abandoned</i>
2007
Only state, unique variant
2007
Untitled, no. 9 of 11, from the series, <i>Extreme Tension</i>
2007
Only state, unique variant
2007
Untitled, no. 4 of 5, from the series, <i>When Did This Happen?</i>
2007
Series
2007
Extreme Tension
2007
<i>Extreme Tension</i>
2007
Series
2007
When Did This Happen?
2007
<i>When Did This Happen?</i>
2007
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<i>Just Like Me</i>
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Do Not Abandon Me
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2000
<i>Do Not Abandon Me</i>
2000
The Trauma of Abandonment
2001
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2001
Tourbillon
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2007
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2008
<i>Are You in Orbit? (#1)</i>
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Related Works in Other Mediums
Torso, Self-Portrait
1963-64
Torso, Self-Portrait
1963-64
Medium: Plaster
Dimensions: 24 3/4 x 16 x 7 1/8" (62.3 x 40.5 x 18.8 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Orange Episode
1990
Orange Episode
1990
Medium: Oil, gouache, and orange collage on board
Dimensions: board: 17 × 13 1/8" (43.2 × 33.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
The Loved Hand
1967
The Loved Hand
1967
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: overall: 9 × 12 1/2 × 8" (22.9 × 31.8 × 20.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
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.