Untitled, no. 1 of 9, from the series, To the Voyeur

Cat. No. 1434, in 1254

Untitled, no. 1 of 9, from the series, To the Voyeur

Date:
2005-2009
Series:
To the Voyeur

Themes
Music, Objects
Techniques
Other Techniques
Support:
Music paper; staves drawn in pencil
Dimensions:
sheet (approx.): 16 × 36" (40.6 × 91.4 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher
Osiris
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
"To the Voyeur" incorporates some of the same compositions from the series of folio sets "Nothing to Remember" (2004-2006). Since this project came to light in the final days of producing, “Louise Bourgeois: The Complete Prints & Books,” it could not be fully integrated into the larger "Nothing to Remember" project. "Nothing to Remember" can be seen in Related Works in the Catalogue.
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 of the individual panels in the series could not be fully documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The overall mediums and sheet dimensions for the series were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
Wood, glass, and pencil
Inscription:
"To the voyeur" center comp., pencil, artist's hand.
Installation Remarks:
This composition is one of 9 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

No. 1 of 9, from the series, To the Voyeur

2005-2009

Panel
Untitled, no. 1 of 9, from the series, To the Voyeur

Series

2005-2009

To the Voyeur

Related Works in the Catalogue

Nothing to Remember
Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

To the Voyeur,

New York, Osiris, 2009

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

No. 1:
To the voyeur

No. 2:
I hid behind my hair
I could not look away

No. 3:
Where was I hiding?
the peeping Tom
me

No. 4:
Silence and patience
Sleepless nights

No. 6:
I thought I saw you
perhaps I was / mistaken

No. 7:
I did not want to look, but I did see

No. 8:
I see you but you don't see me

No. 9:
I am lost, but I know that I have
been here before.