NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION
Cat. No. 247/VIII
Umbilical Cord
- State/Variant:
- State VIII of IX
- Date:
- 2002
- Themes:
- Fabric Works, Figures, Motherhood & Family
- Techniques:
- Drypoint, Engraving
- Description:
- Engraving and drypoint
- Support:
- Fabric
- Dimensions:
- plate: 10 7/8 x 8 7/16" (27.6 x 21.4 cm); sheet: 13 1/4 x 14" (33.7 x 35.6 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" right lower margin, stitched in red thread.
- Publisher:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 6
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- There are variations in the fabrics used in this edition, including staining and scorching, as is commonly found in the old fabrics Bourgeois chose to use as printing surfaces.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Changes from state VII in drypoint: both figures' hair further delineated.
- Background:
- "Umbilical Cord" relates to a monumental installation for the inaugural exhibition in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in 2000. The installation consisted of "Maman," a 30' steel sculpture of a spider, and "I Do, I Undo, I Redo," three steel towers ranging in height from 42' to 57'. Each tower contained a different sculpture of a mother and child inside a bell jar. The sculpture in the tower titled, "I Redo," featured a mother and child attached by an umbilical cord. Bourgeois also made another related print called "Do Not Abandon Me," 2000, which includes a similar mother and child.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- The plate dimensions of this impression could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's collection and could not be examined in person. The dimensions given are from an impression on paper.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY



















