Cat. No. 764.3, unique variant, in 918

Untitled, no. 5 of 5, from the series, When Did This Happen?

State/Variant:: Version 3 of 3, only state, unique variant
Date:: 2007
Series:: When Did This Happen?

Alternate Title:: Are You in Orbit?
Themes: Abstraction, Nature
Techniques: Etching
Support:: Paper (3 attached sheets)
Dimensions:: plate (a) (in 2 vertical parts) (overall): 60 5/16 × 35 11/16" (153.2 × 90.7 cm); plate (c) (in 2 vertical parts) (overall): 60 5/16 × 35 11/16" (153.2 × 90.7 cm); sheet (overall): 59 3/4 × 111" (151.8 × 281.9 cm) (dimensions reflect full plate size; both impressions are partial printings)
Signature:: panel (a): "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
panel (c): "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher: Osiris
Printer: Wingate Studio
Edition:: Unique
Edition Information:: The composition "Are You in Orbit?" was made on one plate in two vertical parts (A and B).

The Evolving Composition Diagram below includes impressions of parts A and B printed separately (called partial plate impressions), as well as impressions of the two parts printed side by side in different layouts. The full compositions are organized into three versions according to plate layout. There were no state changes to the plate from version to version.

In the first version, the layout shows the tendrils pointing out toward the edges of the sheet. In the second version, the layout shows the tendrils pointed in toward the center of the sheet.

There are unique variants of both versions, all with extensive hand additions. The third version is a multi-panel work that combines both versions of the composition.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
First version, unique variant: "Are You in Orbit?"
Second version, unique variant: "Le Coeur Est Là" and "Étoile (#1)"
Third Version: Untitled, no. 5 of 5, from the series, "When Did This Happen?"

There are two known cancellation proofs of version 1, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.
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 color of hand additions and 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 in MoMA’s Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:: panel (a): Soft ground etching, with hand additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): 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.

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Version 3 of 3, only state, unique variant

2007

Are You in Orbit?

2007-2008

Partial Plate Impressions

First Version

First Version, Unique Variants

Second Version

Second Version, Unique Variants

Third Version

Series

2007

Related Works in the Catalogue

Related Works in Other Mediums

Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

When Did This Happen?,

New York, Osiris, 2007

Bourgeois'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

Cat. No. 764.3, unique variant, in 918

Untitled, no. 5 of 5, from the series, When Did This Happen?

Are You in Orbit?