Pacifers (#1)

Cat. No. 829, unique variant 1

Pacifers (#1)

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2006
Alternate Title:
The Pacifiers (#1)
Themes
Abstraction, Objects
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 54 15/16 × 14 3/16" (139.6 × 36 cm); sheet: 57 1/4 × 16" (145.4 × 40.6 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 10 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. 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:
"Pacifers (#1)"
"The Pacifiers (#2)"
"The Pacifiers (#3)"
"The Pacifiers (#4)"
"The Pacifiers (#5)"
"The Pacifiers (#6)"
"The Pacifiers (#7)"
"The Pacifiers (#8)"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
Untitled, no. 1 of 3, from the series, "I Want to Talk About Magic"
Untitled, no 1 of 4, from the series, "What Why When Where Who and How!!"

About "The Pacifiers" edition:
Within the edition of 19, there are variations in inking. Blue and red were used interchangeably to print the 4 stacks of circles seen throughout the composition. Impressions 1/19, 5/19, 7/19, 9/19, 10/19, 14/19, 15/19, 18/19, and 19/19 are identical. Impressions 2/19, 6/19, 8/19, and 16/19 are identical. Impressions 11/19 and 12/19 are identical. Impressions 3/19, 4/19, and 17/19 are each unique. Impression number 13/19 was not able to be examined; the color is unknown. For examples of the variations in inking, see the editioned impressions in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.

There is 1 known variant impression of the only state, outside the edition. It is printed in all black ink and can be 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 color of 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 sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
Soft ground etching, with ink, watercolor, and gouache additions
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

The Pacifiers

2006-2007

States
The Pacifiers
The Pacifiers
The Pacifiers
The Pacifiers
Unique Variants
Pacifers (#1)
The Pacifiers (#2)
The Pacifiers (#3)
The Pacifiers (#4)
The Pacifiers (#5)
The Pacifiers (#6)
The Pacifiers (#7)
The Pacifiers (#8)

Related Works in the Catalogue

Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, I Want To Talk About Magic
Untitled, no. 1 of 15, from the illustrated book, Sublimation
Untitled
Let My Children Come
Ma Famille
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, What Why When Where Who and How!!

Related Works in Other Mediums

Precious Liquids
Untitled (recto)
Untitled
Take It Easy