Issue 24

The Issue 24 Collective 

Editorial Collective: Kathie Brown, Sue Heinemann, Elizabeth Hess, Sabra Moore, Faith Wilding

Staff: Avis Lang, Judith Lodge

Design: Kathie Brown, Sue Heinemann, Sabra Moore

Cutouts: Miriam Shapiro, Faith Wilding

Typesetting: Kathie Brown

Editorial and Production Assistance: Laura Baird, Coco Fusco, Kathryn Gleason, Avis Lang, Roger Mignon, Linda Peer, Sylvia Sleigh, Merle Temkin, Risa Wallberg, Robert Woo 

From the Issue 24 Collective

PREMISES, PREMISES

You are the reason we started Heresies in 1977. We built this magazine on a simple premise: feminist art is not only rooted in the real world, but in the art world. Once upon a time, not so long ago, the notion that art and politics can mix was a heretical thought. Feminist art was viewed as "propaganda,” or even worse, as "sociology." Feminists, of course, were deeply committed to both subjects and determined to demonstrate that art, at its best, was indeed "propaganda,” and moreover, could have an effect on "sociology,” by unraveling the discourses that construct it.

As a result, we decided to publish a magazine that gave equal space to women’s art, criticism, and articles (including fiction and poetry) on the social issues that inspire feminists -artists or not. Twelve years ago when we began, there were almost no art magazines that took women’s art seriously. From the beginning, one of our long-term goals has been to carve out a significant place for feminist art, but before this mission could be accomplished, it was necessary to make this work visible. Twelve years ago, you saw art by certain (familiar at long last) women artists in Heresies—first.

And you saw much more than art. For example, two of our most significant and controversial issues—The Great Goddess (#5), and The Sex Issue (#12),—broke new ground within debates that are still crucial to the project of feminism. The uneven progress of Heresies is not unlike the uneven progress of the feminist art movement itself. We have made mistakes, angered readers and authors on occasion (not to mention one another), but we have also brought you reams of material on the crucial issues that have informed our movement and shaped our art. Where have we been? Where are we going? This is our Anniversary issue, and Anniversary issues are supposed to tackle the Big questions. But, like all Heresies issues, this one doesn’t contain any Big answers. What it does do, however, is offer apicture of where we are right now. We are pleased with this issue because it touches on some of the same themes we have considered over the years, yet it goes further, updating and continuing to investigate some of the ideas that we hope will continue to inspire, if not push, the women’s art movement in an even more radical direction.

It is our view that artists must be key to any movement of social change, and we all know that little changes unless women take the initiative. Heresies, like any other progressive publication, or any other progressive person, will have to become more radical, more activist, more will ing to confront our adver saries in the coming years. The battle for our survival on the earth— an earth we all want to live in—will be fought not only with our bodies in the streets, but with our images, which can travel anywhere.