Cat. No. 545.2 in 981A
Unaware and Aware, plate 11 of 18, from the illustrated book, One's Sleep (1)
- State/Variant:
- Version 2 of 2, only state
- Date:
- 2003
- Illustrated Book:
- One's Sleep (1)
- Themes
- Body Parts, Faces & Portaits, Figures
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Handmade Dieu Donné paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 23 1/16 × 17 1/2" (58.6 × 44.5 cm); page (each): 38 1/2 × 28 5/8" (97.8 × 72.7 cm)
- Signature:
- "Louise Bourgeois" lower center sheet, page 42, pencil.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Printer of Text
- Wild Carrot Letterpress
- Edition:
- 12 (see Edition Information); plus an edition of 7 with multicolor hand additions, and an edition of 3 with red hand additions, and an edition of 3 with black hand additions
- Edition Information:
- Documentation was available from the Louise Bourgeois Studio for 2 bound examples of “One’s Sleep”: numbers 1 and 3. No documentation is available for the other bound or unbound examples, as of 2016 cataloguing.
The colophons found in books 1 and 3 differ with regard to Edition and Publisher.
Book 1:
Edition: “Ten bound books / Two unbound folio sets”
Publisher: “Designed and published by Benjamin Shiff”
Book 3:
Edition: “Nine bound books / Three unbound folio sets”
(Publisher’s notes, not included on the colophon, numbers the books 1-9 and I-III)
Publisher: “Published by Osiris”
The pagination in books 1 and book 3 differ in that book 1 includes an additional blank spread before pp. 9-10 (with plates 1 and 2). Otherwise, the plates used and the order in which they appear is consistent in each. (See individual books)
Hand additions to the plates in books 1 and 3 vary considerably.
There are 4 published editions of this composition, unrelated to the books. One edition of version 1, state VI was issued with the title "Self Portrait." The three editions of the only state of version 2 are titled "Unaware and Aware."
In the edition of 7 impressions of version 2 with hand additions, each is designated by the artist 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:
- "1/10" lower center p. 42, pencil, artist's hand (artist's numbering refers to bound books as noted on the colophon).
- Background:
- Bourgeois first took up this subject as a print in honor of the birth of Peter Blum's daughter, Anna, in 1990. Peter Blum was a publisher of Bourgeois's prints and also an art dealer who showed her work at his gallery. The artist gave an inscribed impression of version 1, state VI to the Blum family as a gift. The Blums reproduced the impression on Anna's birth annoucement, a card measuring 7 3/4 x 5 1/2" closed.
Version 1, state VI (without chine collé) was published in 1994 to benefit The Museum of Modern Art, New York. - Curatorial Remarks:
- The plate dimensions 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 impressions in MoMA’s Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
- Description:
- Soft ground etching, with hand additions
- State Changes and Additions:
- Changes from version 1: composition mirrored, enlarged, and partially transferred to a new plate, in soft ground etching.
- Pagination:
- Pages 27 and 28 of 43.
Version 2 of 2, only state
2003
Self Portrait and Unaware and Aware
1990-2003
Source
recto: 1940
Untitled (recto)
recto: 1940
Untitled (recto)
recto: 1940
Medium: Oil and pencil on board
Dimensions: board: 13 1/8 x 11 7/8" (33.3 x 30.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Source
1940
Untitled
1940
Untitled
1940
Medium: Pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 x 8 3/4" (27.9 x 22.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Version 1 of 2, state I of VI
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state I of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state II of VI
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state II of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state II of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state II of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state II of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state II of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state II of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state III of VI
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state III of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state III of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state IV of VI
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state V of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state V of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state V of VI, variant
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state VI of VI
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state VI of VI
1990
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1990
Version 1 of 2, state VI of VI
1994
<i>Self Portrait</i>
1994
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
1997-2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>
1997-2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>, plate 11 of 18, from the illustrated book, <i>One's Sleep </i>(1)
2003
Version 2 of 2, only state
2003
<i>Unaware and Aware</i>, plate 11 of 18, from the illustrated book, <i>One's Sleep </i>(3)
2003
Illustrated Book
2003
One's Sleep
2003
<i>One's Sleep</i>
2003
Related Works in the Catalogue
Self Portrait
2009
<i>Self Portrait</i>
2009
Michel, plate 7 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
Only state
2009
<i>Michel</i>, plate 7 of 24, from the series,<i> Self Portrait</i>
2009
Untitled, plate 14 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series
State VI of VI
1994
Untitled, plate 14 of 14, from the portfolio,<i> Autobiographical Series</i>
1994
Self Portrait
Version 2 of 3, state VIII of VIII
2007
<i>Self Portrait</i>
2007
Bébé Joufflu
State III of III, variant
2003
<i>Bébé Joufflu</i>
2003
The Smile
Only state
2001
<i>The Smile</i>
2001
Untitled, no. 1 of 12, from the portfolio, Anatomy
Only state
1989-1990
Untitled, no. 1 of 12, from the portfolio,<i> Anatomy</i>
1989-1990
The Son Is Father to the Man
State III of III
2000
<i>The Son Is Father to the Man</i>
2000
Caryatid
Only state
2001
<i>Caryatid</i>
2001
Untitled
State IV of IV
2003
Untitled
2003
Janus
Only state
2008
<i>Janus</i>
2008
Spiraling Eyes
State VI of VI
1999
<i>Spiraling Eyes</i>
1999
Related Works in Other Mediums
The Conversation
2007
The Conversation
2007
Medium: Ink and colored pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 1/2 x 8" (24.1 x 20.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
I Redo (interior component), from the 3-part installation, I Do, I Undo, I Redo
1999-2000
I Redo (interior component), from the 3-part installation, I Do, I Undo, I Redo
1999-2000
Medium: Steel, stainless steel, marble, fabric, glass and wood
Dimensions: "I Redo" overall (not shown): 57' 4" x 29' 5" x 19' 7" (17.5 x 9 x 6 m)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
1990
Untitled
1990
Medium: Pencil and ink on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 13 × 19" (33 × 48.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
1999
Untitled
1999
Medium: Ink, pencil, and correction fluid on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 7/8 × 9" (30.2 × 22.9 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Untitled
1999
Untitled
1999
Medium: Crayon, pencil, and iodine on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 3/4 × 9" (29.8 × 22.9 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
The Conversation
2007
The Conversation
2007
Medium: Ink and colored pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 1/2 × 8" (24.1 × 20.3 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Louise Bourgeois,
One's Sleep,
2003Bourgeois's entire printed text for this volume appears on the pages cited below. The text is consistent throughout the documented books, although the page numbers vary slightly.
Cover:
One's Sleep [artist’s hand]
Text 1:
LOUISE BOURGEOIS
Text 2:
one's sleep
Text 3 (with plate 1):
The blue fear.
Text 4 (with plate 2):
The pink fear.
Text 5:
I need sleep.
Text 6 (with plate 3):
The comfort object, always present,
Text 7 (with plate 4):
the color blue,
the child.
the circling of children.
Text 8 (with plate 5):
I need sleep.
Text 9 (with plate 6):
To listen to the breathing, to my stomach,
to my intestines. I want to listen to them,
to expose them, to think about them,
to welcome them, to wait for them,
to take care of them, like a good rested mother.
Text 10 (with plate 7 and 8):
Sleep to reach peace, the restoration of silence and of peace.
The defenses are worthless, they do not exist. Kindliness,
healthy breathing, forgetting and forgiving, to let go.
Text 11:
Leniency and charity are necessary for the arrival of sleep.
I want to give, to exude, to give to give, to exude.
Text 12 (with plate 9):
My sleep is disturbed. The house of fear. Apprehension.
I fear the future, but I am also afraid of the past.
Yes even the past, but also the present.
I am afraid of others, but mostly of myself.
Text 13 (with plate 10):
The fear to waste one's time,
the fear to waste one's luck,
the fear of the past;
nostalgia.
The fear of the present,
the fear to love,
the fear of the future;
apprehension.
Text 14 (with plate 11):
The ransom, the cost, the effect of fear on others.
The fear that does not know itself.
Unaware and aware.
Text 15 (with plate 12 and 13):
The underground life of fear, what it becomes.
Text 16 (with plate 14):
The fear and the sugar, the adrenaline.
To have the energy and persistence to replace fear by trust.
Text 17 (with plate 15):
I'm going to wait until my breathing goes down and gets regularized, to yawn,
Text 18 (with plate 16):
to do one's nails, to comb the hair, to mend, to draw, to write one's journal.
Text 19 (with plate 17):
One's sleep.
Text 20:
To lose one's way,
to lose one's friend,
to lose one's breath.
Text 21:
To love.
Text 22 (with plate 18):
Leave the house of fear, the window is open.