À Qui la Faute

Cat. No. 1302

À Qui la Faute

State/Variant:
Unique variant
Date:
2008
Themes
Body Parts
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate (a): 55 13/16 × 15 5/16" (141.8 × 38.9 cm); plate (c): 59 3/4 × 14 3/8" (151.8 × 36.5 cm); sheet (overall): 60 × 54 1/2" (152.4 × 138.4 cm)
Signature:
panel (a): "Louise Bourgeois" lower center comp., pencil.
panel (c): "Louise Bourgeois" lower center comp., pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
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 paper type could not be documented because this work 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.
Descriptive Title:
English translation: "Whose Fault Is It"
Description:
panel (a): Soft ground etching, with red ink, red watercolor, and pencil additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with red ink and red watercolor additions
Inscription:
panel (b): "à qui la faute? / à qui la faute? / à qui la faute? / à qui la faute? / à qui la faute? / à qui la faute? / à qui la faute? / à qui la faute?" center comp., pencil, artist's hand.
State Changes and Additions:
Matrices:
This 3-panel composition is made up of 2 plates that were used in other compositions. They are noted below and can be seen in Related Works in the Catalogue.

panel (a): plate from "Slipping Away"

panel (c): plate from "Extreme Tension"
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

À Qui La Faute

2008

Unique Variant
À Qui la Faute

Related Works in the Catalogue

Slipping Away
Untitled
Extreme Tension
Hands
Don't Swallow Me!
Untitled, no. 1 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
My Hand