Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, Have a Little Courage

Cat. No. 748, unique variant 4, in 1258

Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, Have a Little Courage

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2009
Series:
Have a Little Courage
Alternate Title:
Opening Up
Themes
Abstraction, Nature
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Smooth, wove handmade paper (3 attached sheets)
Dimensions:
plate (each): 55 1/2 × 14 3/4" (141 × 37.5 cm); sheet: 60 × 100 3/4" (152.4 × 255.9 cm) (dimensions reflect full plate size; these are partial prints)
Signature:
panel (c): "Louise / Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 10 unique variants outside the edition to incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. Most include extensive hand additions and sometimes partial inking of the plate. When the plate is used alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with other plates, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
Untitled, plate 4 of 9, from the illustrated book, "Differentiate"
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, "This Need"
"Elle"
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, "Jalouse"
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, "Have a Little Courage"
"Les Matins Se Lèvent"
Untitled, no. 6 of 6, from the series, "I Give Everything Away"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
"A Stretch of Time"
"The Geometry of Pleasure (#2)"
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, "Jalouse"

About the "Opening Up" edition:
Within the edition, selective wiping varies from impression to impression. There is 1 known variant impression of the only state, outside the edition.
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 an impression in MoMA's Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
panel (a): Soft ground etchings, with red, white, and blue watercolor and gouache, and pencil additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etchings, with red and white gouache, and pencil additions
Inscription:
panel (b): "Dizzy / spells" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
State Changes and Additions:
Matrices:
Plate partially inked and printed five times, twice on panel (a) and thrice on panel (c).
Installation Remarks:
This composition is one of 4 that constitute a single work of art. All of the compositions are to be exhibited together in the indicated sequence.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Opening Up

2007-2010

States
Opening Up
Opening Up
Unique Variants
Untitled, plate 4 of 9, from the illustrated book, Differentiate
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, This Need
Elle
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, Have a Little Courage
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, Jalouse
Untitled, no. 6 of 6, from the series, I Give Everything Away
Les Matins Se Lèvent

Illustrated Book

2007

Differentiate

Series

2007

This Need

Series

2009

Have a Little Courage

Series

2009

Jalouse

Series

2010

I Give Everything Away

Related Works in the Catalogue

My Inner Life
La Famille
The Geometry of Pleasure (#2)
A Stretch of Time
The Smell of Eucalyptus (#1)
Losing It
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, Jalouse
Accumulations
Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

Have a Little Courage,

New York, Osiris, 2009

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

No. 1:
Dizzy
Spells
étourdi

No. 2:
Beheaded
jilted
unprotected

slipped
and
could not get up.

No. 3:
when fear
becomes conscious

No. 4:
Watch out
and
have a little
Courage