Cat. No. 1118, in 1110
Untitled, plate 9 of 17, from the illustrated book, Hang On
- State/Variant:
- Only state
- Date:
- 2004
- Illustrated Book:
- Hang On
- Alternate Title:
- Two Figures / Father and Son
- Themes
- Figures, Motherhood & Family
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper, mounted on handmade Dieu Donné paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 29 3/4 × 21 13/16" (75.6 × 55.4 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 included in the illustrated book "Hang On." It was also issued in 2 separate editions, both titled "Two Figures / Father and Son." An edition of 17 was issued in 2004 and an edition of 11 was issued in 2005.
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 9 has white gouache additions.
About the 2004 edition of 17:
The hand additions vary slightly across the edition. For comparison, see a different impression in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.
About the 2005 edition of 11:
Bourgeois and the publisher designated each impression in this edition as a study. (Usually in this catalogue, the term study describes photocopies and tracings that were used in the process of developing a composition.) The hand additions vary across the edition and some studies were trimmed within the platemark. For comparison, see multiple studies in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. Studies 10 and 11 each have a mylar overlay. On study 10, the mylar has a tracing of the figures and some words. On study 11, the mylar has a tracing of the figures. Neither were available for illustration. - 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.
This composition was developed at the same time as the sculptural fountain "Father and Son," installed in the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park. The fountain has two parts, a father figure and a son figure. At varying times, the water rises in height to obscure one figure from the other. Related drawings and a model for the sculpture can be seen below in Related Works in Other Mediums. - 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:
- Etching, with watercolor and gouache additions
- Pagination:
- Page 8 of 17.
Only state
2004
Untitled, plate 9 of 17, from the illustrated book, Hang On ; Two Figures / Father and Son
2004-2005
Source
2005
Father and Son, installed in the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park
2005
Father and Son, installed in the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park
2005
Medium: Stainless steel, aluminum, and bronze bell
Dimensions: overall: 77 × 312 × 432" (195.6 × 792.5 × 1097.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Source
2005
Father and Son, installed in the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park
2005
Father and Son, installed in the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park
2005
Medium: Stainless steel, aluminum, and bronze bell
Dimensions: overall: 77 × 312 × 432" (195.6 × 792.5 × 1097.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Only state
2004
Untitled, plate 9 of 17, from the illustrated book,<i> Hang On</i>
2004
Only state
2004
<i>Two Figures / Father and Son</i>
2004
Only state
2004
<i>Two Figures / Father and Son</i>
2004
Only state
2005
<i>Two Figures / Father and Son</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Two Figures / Father and Son</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Two Figures / Father and Son</i>
2005
Only state
2005
<i>Two Figures / Father and Son</i>
2005
Illustrated Book
2004
Hang On
2004
<i>Hang On</i>
2004
Related Works in the Catalogue
Paternity, plate 12 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series
State V of V
1994
<i>Paternity</i>, plate 12 of 14, from the portfolio,<i> Autobiographical Series</i>
1994
Mother and Child
Version 2 of 2, state III of III
1999
<i>Mother and Child</i>
1999
Mother and Child
Only state
2004
<i>Mother and Child</i>
2004
The Son Is Father to the Man
State III of III
2000
<i>The Son Is Father to the Man</i>
2000
Related Works in Other Mediums
Father and Son
1997
Father and Son
1997
Medium: Ink and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 x 11 7/8" (22.9 x 30.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Father and Son
2004
Father and Son
2004
Medium: Watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 8 x 9 1/2" (20.3 x 24.1 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Father and Son
2004
Father and Son
2004
Medium: Watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 8 x 9 1/2" (20.3 x 24.1 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Father and Son
2004
Father and Son
2004
Medium: Ink and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 10 3/4 × 6 7/8" (27.3 × 17.5 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Father and Son
2004
Father and Son
2004
Medium: Ink, correction fluid, and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 1/2 × 8" (24.1 × 20.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Father and Son (model for Father and Son)
2005
Father and Son (model for Father and Son)
2005
Medium: Plaster and wood
Dimensions: son: 55 × 12 1/2 × 13" (139.7 × 31.7 × 33 cm); father: 91 5/8 × 20 × 25" (232.7 × 50.8 × 63.5 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