Cat. No. 1116, in 1110
Untitled, plate 6 of 17, from the illustrated book, Hang On
- State/Variant:
- Only state
- Date:
- 2004
- Illustrated Book:
- Hang On
- Alternate Title:
- Acrobat
- Themes
- Figures
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper, mounted on handmade Dieu Donné paper
- Dimensions:
- plate (in 2 parts) (overall): 28 1/4 × 11 13/16" (71.7 × 30 cm); sheet: 33 × 54" (83.8 × 137.2 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- 9 (see Edition Information)
- Edition Information:
- This composition is comprised of 3 plates stacked on top of each other. For the illustrated book "Hang On," only 2 plates are used. For the separate edition "Acrobat," all 3 plates are used.
About the "Hang On" illustrated book edition:
Of the announced edition of 9 unbound and 12 bound, only 9 unbound examples were realized.
There are varying hand additions across the edition of illustrated books. Impression number 5/9 was also available for examination by MoMA cataloguers, but was not available for reproduction. In that example, plate 6 has blue watercolor wash, pencil, and red crayon additions.
About the "Acrobat" edition:
The hand additions vary slightly across the edition. Of the 3 plates used in this composition, soft ground etching is only in the middle and lower thirds. The top third is a lightly distressed plate with crayon additions that extend the length of the two ropes. For comparison, see various impressions in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. In this edition, Bourgeois and the publisher designated each impression as a study. (Usually in this catalogue, the term study describes photocopies and tracings that were used in the process of developing a composition.) - Impression:
- "set #1" verso, artist's hand.
- Background:
- The text in "Hang On" is from notebooks and loose sheets written in the 1960s, combined with spontaneous phrases written at the time of publication.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- The hand additions, paper type, and impression number could not be fully documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person.
- Description:
- Soft ground etching, with watercolor and pencil additions
- Pagination:
- Page 6 of 17.
Only state
2004
Untitled, plate 6 of 15, from the illustrated book, Hang On ; Acrobat
2004-2005
Source
1954
Untitled (double-sided)
1954
Untitled (double-sided)
1954
Medium: Charcoal and ink on tracing paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 3/8 × 8" (23.8 × 20.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Source
1992
Untitled
1992
Untitled
1992
Medium: Pencil and ink on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 3/4 × 8 1/4" (29.8 × 21 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Only state
2004
Untitled, plate 6 of 17, from the illustrated book,<i> Hang On</i>
2004
Only state
2005
<i>Acrobat</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Acrobat</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Acrobat</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Acrobat</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Acrobat</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Acrobat</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Acrobat</i>
2005
Illustrated Book
2004
Hang On
2004
<i>Hang On</i>
2004
Related Works in Other Mediums
Hold On
1997
Hold On
1997
Medium: Pencil, ink, and white correction fluid on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 3/8 × 8" (23.8 × 20.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
1997
Untitled
1997
Medium: Ink and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 × 11 1/2" (22.9 × 29.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
1997
Untitled
1997
Medium: Ink and pencil on music paper
Dimensions: sheet: 12 × 8 1/2" (30.5 × 21.6 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Look: Nothing to Hide
1997
Look: Nothing to Hide
1997
Medium: Watercolor and pencil on music paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 1/8 × 11 1/8" (23.2 × 28.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
2003
Untitled
2003
Medium: Ink, crayon, and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 5/8 × 9" (29.5 × 22.9 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Louise Bourgeois,
Hang On,
New York, Osiris, 2004Bourgeois's entire text for this volume appears on the pages cited below.
Page 1:
I want to say
I want to tell
I want to see
I want to learn
I want to know
Page 2:
I want to control
I want to hold
I want to feel
I want to remember
Page 3:
I want to go
I want to want
I want to find
I want to finish
I want to forget
Page 4:
I want to be good
I want to be better
I want to do it
I want to show
I want to outdo
I want to top it
I want to accomplish mastery
Page 5:
I want the means to get
I want the tools
I want omnipotence
I want to manipulate
I want to be an acrobat
Page 6:
I want to be healthy
I want to be strong
I want to be clever
I want to please
I want to be good
Page 7:
I want it now
I want it this minute
I want to make it appear
as a fairy with a magic wand
I say there and there it is
Page 8:
I want to go everywhere
I want to turn around the table
I want to turn around people
I want to turn people around
To understand them
To anticipate them
To fool them
Page 9:
I want them to like
me and tell me
that I am ok
I want to be noticed
I want to be given
I want to be loved
Page 10:
I want to be right
I want to prove
I want to survive
I want to be free
I want to please
Page 11:
I want to avoid
death, destruction, guilt
Page 12:
I want to escape
I have to escape
I do not want to look
I have to find a diversion
a substitute
Page 13:
I want to look
around and see
then I want to go
back to my lair
and close my door
and then I want to get out
again and look at
everything
Page 14:
But I know that
I cannot see
I cannot learn
I can never know
I am not supposed to go
It is bad to want
I never find
I will not finish
I cannot forget
Page 15:
I cannot control
I cannot hold
I may not feel
I am unable to remember
Page 16:
The voice of reason and experience
The real world always says no
To be rich is not to want beyond my means
To be satisfied – to be wise
To be satisfied with what I have
Page 17:
Contemplate a finished and concentric world like a rose