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Screenprint on Neobond paper 24 x 22 in. / 62 x 56 cm. Image 16 x 14 in. / 40.5 x 30.5 cm. Edition 100: this impression a proof aside from the edition. Signed by the artist lower right in pencil.
One of twenty-two screenprints from the “Some Poems of Jules Laforgue” book and portfolio publication, this impression a signed proof from the Edition C portfolio of 100. The image also appears in the bound volumes Edition A (English text) edition 200, and Edition B (French text) edition 200.
Printed in glossy purple, lavender, and bright yellow, I’ll take my life monotonous depicts a lattice outlined in black, with three small dots of yellow. A garden lattice or perhaps the lattice covering the edges of a front porch, the repeating diamond shapes evoke moments or days passing, each one identical. The synthetic paper, slick surface, and bright colors reflect a Pop art aesthetic. When invited by Petersburg Press to make a limited edition book, Caulfield’s first choice was the French poet Jules Laforgue.
Caulfield’s brilliant colors, characteristic black outlines and quality of printing make this one of the most vivid artists’ books of the period. The screenprints complement rather than illustrate the Laforgue poems, with the melancholy atmosphere of Caulfield’s images finding a direct equivalent in Laforgue’s poetry.
Copies of this screenprint are in the collection of Tate, London; Arts Council, London; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra;; Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin
Very faint handling discoloration along either side of the front of the sheet. The back of the sheet has two faint black smudges at the edge of the sheet top right edge and bottom right edge. The screenprint has been in archive storage since 1973.
