Cat. No. 757, unique variant 2, in 918
Untitled, no. 4 of 5, from the series, When Did This Happen?
- State/Variant:
- Only state, unique variant
- Date:
- 2007
- Series:
- When Did This Happen?
- Alternate Title:
- Abandoned
- Themes
- Abstraction, Body Parts
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 60 3/8 × 19 7/8" (153.4 × 50.5 cm); sheet: 59 7/8 × 52" (152.1 × 132.1 cm)
- Signature:
- panel (b): "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- Unique
- Edition Information:
- This 2 panel work is one of 2 unique variants made from the 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 type of paper 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 on paper in MoMA’s Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
- Description:
- panel (a): Pencil
panel (b): Soft ground etching, with hand additions - Installation Remarks:
- This panel is one of 5 which constitute a single work of art. All of these panels 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
Related Works in the Catalogue
My Inner Life
Only state
2008
<i>My Inner Life</i>
2008
Do Not Abandon Me
2009-2010
<i>Do Not Abandon Me</i>
2009-2010
Just Like Me
Only state
2007
<i>Just Like Me</i>
2007
Do Not Abandon Me
State VII of VII
2000
<i>Do Not Abandon Me</i>
2000
The Trauma of Abandonment
2001
<i>The Trauma of Abandonment</i>
2001
Tourbillon
Only state, variant
2007
<i>Tourbillon</i>
2007
Are You in Orbit? (#1)
Version 1 of 3, only state
2008
<i>Are You in Orbit? (#1)</i>
2008
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,
When Did This Happen?,
New York, Osiris, 2007Bourgeois's entire text for this series appears on the panels cited below.
No. 1:
Struck by utter
Revulsion
(I do nothing)
paralyzed.
immobilized by the horror
No. 2:
thunder struck
Freeze on the spot
go totally vague
No. 3:
when did this happen?
when I saw them coupling
separate the two snails
my memory is moth eaten
full of holes
No. 4:
something atrocious must have
happened that I don't
understand
and makes me masochistic
No. 5:
when terror pounces
grips me
I create an image