Untitled, no. 1 of 5, from the series, The Vocabulary of Seduction

Cat. No. 489, unique variant 8, in 1252

Untitled, no. 1 of 5, from the series, The Vocabulary of Seduction

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2007
Series:
The Vocabulary of Seduction
Alternate Title:
Leaves
Themes
Fabric Works, Nature
Techniques
Etching
Support:
panels (a) and (b): Fabric over paper
panel (c) and (d): Paper
Dimensions:
plate (each): 55 1/2 × 9 13/16" (141 × 25 cm); sheet (approx.): 60 × 71" (152.4 × 180.3 cm)
Signature:
panel (d): "LB" right lower margin, pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 18 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with another plate. 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:
“Leaves 1”
“Leaves 2”
“Leaves 3”
“Leaves 4”
"Leaves"
Untitled, plate 3 of 5, from the illustrated book, “Duration and Intensité”
Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, “Duration and Intensité”
Untitled, no. 1 of 5, from the series, "The Vocabulary of Seduction"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
“Eccentric Growth I”
“Eccentric Growth II”
“Eccentric Growth III”
“Eccentric Growth IV”
“Eccentric Growth V”
“Eccentric Growth VI”
("Eccentric Growth VII" was destroyed by the artist)
“Eccentric Growth VIII”
“Eccentric Growth IX”
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, "Evening of My Life"
Untitled, no. 2 of 4, from the series, "Inner Truths or Outer Truths"

About the "Leaves" edition:
There is 1 known impression of the only state, outside the edition. It is inscribed "first proof" in the lower left margin. It is not shown due to its similarity to this impression.

There are 2 known cancellation proofs on paper, 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 hand additions and 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 an impression in MoMA's Collection. The overall mediums and sheet dimensions for the series were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.

On the text panel, gouache is applied like a correction fluid to cover unwanted marks.
Description:
panel (a): Soft ground etching
panel (b): Soft ground etching, with hand additions
panel (c): Pencil, with hand additions
panel (d): Soft ground etching, with hand additions
Inscription:
panel (c): "the wake / of / the want" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
Installation Remarks:
This composition is one of 5 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

Leaves

2006-2007

States
Leaves
Unique Variants
Leaves 1
Leaves 2
Leaves 3
Leaves 4
Leaves
Untitled, plate 3 of 5, from the illustrated book, Duration and Intensité
Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, Duration and Intensité
Untitled, no. 1 of 5, from the series, The Vocabulary of Seduction

Illustrated Book

2007

Duration and Intensité

Series

2007

The Vocabulary of Seduction

Related Works in the Catalogue

Eccentric Growth III
Eccentric Growth IV
Eccentric Growth IX
Eccentric Growth V
Eccentric Growth VI
Eccentric Growth VIII
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, Evening of My Life
Untitled, no. 2 of 4, from the series, Inner Truths or Outer Truths
The Olive Branch
Untitled (Holiday Laurel)
Eccentric Growth I
Up and Up
Ode to Eugénie Grandet
Swaying
Untitled (Two Branches), in Les Arbres (4), from the editioned series of portfolios, Les Arbres (1-6)
Eccentric Growth II

Related Works in Other Mediums

Femme Volage
Untitled
Abstract Figure
Untitled
Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

The Vocabulary of Seduction,

New York, Osiris, 2007

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

No. 1:
the wake
of
the want

No. 2:
The chosen
or
the chooser
To deserve
or
not to deserve

No. 3:
The attraction
to
the
rejected
the
age
of
innocence

No. 4:
understanding
and intimacy

No. 5:
The
vocabulary
of
seduction.