Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, This Need

Cat. No. 834/II, unique variant 6, in 1259

Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, This Need

State/Variant:
State II of III, unique variant
Date:
2007
Series:
This Need
Alternate Title:
Accumulations
Themes
Abstraction, Nature
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Smooth, wove handmade paper
Dimensions:
plate (a, c, and d) (each): 55 3/4 × 12 3/8" (141.6 × 31.5 cm); sheet: 59 × 87" (149.9 × 221 cm)
Signature:
panel (d): "LB" right lower margin, pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 7 unique variants of state II outside the edition, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. When the plate is printed alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with another plate, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
"Accumulations"
"Accumulations"
Untitled, plates 2 and 3 of 9, from the illustrated book, "Differentiate"
Untitled, plate 2 of 5, from the illustrated book, "Duration and Intensité"
Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, "Evening of My Life"
Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, "This Need"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
Untitled, no. 2 of 4, from the series, "Inner Truths or Outer Truths"

About the "Accumulations" edition:
The edition is made up of impressions of state II and III.
State II: 1/7, 3/7, 7/7
State III: 2/7, 6/7
Nos. 4/7 and 5/7 could not be examined in person and their states are not known.

Selective wiping varies from impression to impression; see examples in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. The sheet sizes also vary. There is 1 known variant impression of state II and 1 known impression of state III, both outside the edition. There are 2 known cancellation proofs of state III, 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 plate dimensions are from the impression of state I in MoMA's Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
panels (a): Soft ground etching, with red, white, and blue watercolor and gouache additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with red, white, and blue watercolor and gouache, and black pencil additions
panel (d): Soft ground etching, with red, white, and blue watercolor and gouache, and black pencil additions
Inscription:
panel (b): "I / cannot help / this need / in the morning" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
Installation Remarks:
This composition is one of 3 that constitute a single work of art. All of these compositions are to be exhibited together in the indicated sequence.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Accumulations

2006-2007

Source

2006

Untitled
States
Accumulations
Accumulations
Accumulations
Accumulations
Accumulations
Unique Variants
Accumulations
Accumulations
Untitled, plates 2 and 3 of 9, from the illustrated book, Differentiate
Untitled, plate 2 of 5, from the illustrated book, Duration and Intensité
Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, Evening of My Life
Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, This Need

Illustrated Book

2007

Differentiate

Illustrated Book

2007

Duration and Intensité

Series

2007

Evening of My Life

Series

2007

This Need

Related Works in the Catalogue

My Inner Life
Untitled, plate 15 of 15, from the series, Nature Study
Untitled, no. 2 of 4, from the series, Inner Truths or Outer Truths
Pendule
La Famille

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Femme Volage
Untitled
Eye to Eye
Untitled
Untitled
Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

This Need,

New York, Osiris, 2007

Bourgeois's entire text for this series appears on the panels cited below.

No. 1:
I
cannot help
this need
in the morning

No. 2:
This
need
to grow
obsessive miniscules éléments
géométrique circulaire patterns
repeated indéfiniment
expresses the fear not to be

No. 3:
It
is stronger
than hunger
or thirst

French to English translations by Richard Sieburth and Françoise Gramet.
No. 1:
I
cannot help
this need
in the morning

No. 2:
This
need
to grow
obsessive miniscule elements
geometric circular patterns
repeated indefinitely
expresses the fear not to be

No. 3:
It
is stronger
than hunger
or thirst