Cat. No. 817, unique variant 3, in 1253
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, The Voice Says Yes
- State/Variant:
- Only state, unique variant
- Date:
- 2009
- Series:
- The Voice Says Yes
- Alternate Title:
- The God of Fertility
- Themes
- Abstraction
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper
- Dimensions:
- plate (a and c) (each): 59 5/8 × 14 5/16" (151.4 × 36.4 cm); sheet (approx.): 60 × 78 1/4" (152.4 × 198.8 cm)
- Signature:
- panel (c): "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- Unique
- Edition Information:
- This is one of 4 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with another plate in a multi-panel work. They all include hand additions. When the plate is used 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:
Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
"The God of Fertility"
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, "The Voice Says Yes"
See Related Works in the Catalogue:
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, "Start Something!!"
This plate was not issued as a published edition. There are 3 known variant impressions of the only state, seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, 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.
- Description:
- panel (a): Soft ground etching, with hand additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with hand additions - Inscription:
- panel (b): "say it / sign it / sing it / write it / shout it / howl it / but in your own way" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Matrices:
panel (a): For this panel, the plate is in the reverse orientation of the impressions of the only state in MoMA's Collection.
panel (c): For this panel, the plate is in the same orientation as the impressions of the only state in MoMA's Collection. - Installation Remarks:
- This series of 3 compositions constitutes 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
Open to compare works
Select a work in the diagram below
Only state, unique variant
2009
A
B
The God of Fertility
2007-2009
States
Only state, variant
2007
<i>The God of Fertility</i>
2007
Only state, variant
2007
<i>The God of Fertility</i>
2007
Only state, variant
2007
<i>The God of Fertility</i>
2007
Unique Variants
Published
Not in MoMA's Collection
Only state, unique variant
2007
Not in MoMA's Collection
Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, <i>Extreme Tension</i>
2007
Published
Not in MoMA's Collection
Only state, unique variant
2007
Not in MoMA's Collection
<i>The God of Fertility</i>
2007
Published
Not in MoMA's Collection
Only state, unique variant
2009
Not in MoMA's Collection
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series,<i> The Voice Says Yes</i>
2009
Series
2007
Published
Not in MoMA's Collection
Extreme Tension
2007
Not in MoMA's Collection
<i>Extreme Tension</i>
2007
Series
2009
Published
Not in MoMA's Collection
The Voice Says Yes
2009
Not in MoMA's Collection
<i>The Voice Says Yes</i>
2009
Related Works in the Catalogue
Published
Not in MoMA's Collection
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, Start Something!!
Unique variant
2008
Not in MoMA's Collection
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series,<i> Start Something!!</i>
2008
Published
Untitled, plate 12 of 15, from the series, Nature Study
Only state
2009
Untitled, plate 12 of 15, from the series,<i> Nature Study</i>
2009
Publication Excerpts
Louise Bourgeois,
The Voice Says Yes,
New York, Osiris, 2009Bourgeois's entire text for this series appears on the panels cited below.
No. 1:
The voice
says
yes
No. 2:
say it
sign it
sing it
write it
shout it
howl it
but in your own way
No. 3:
I want the world to know
I want history to record it
I am calling you
you
you
you
you
It is my total
commitment
I want nothing else