How I Do It, Cautionary Advice from a Lesbian Painter Document <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-model href="http://www.tei-c.org/release/xml/tei/custom/schema/relaxng/tei_all.rng" type="application/xml" schematypens="http://relaxng.org/ns/structure/1.0"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="null"?><TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <teiHeader> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title>How I Do It: Cautionary Advice from a Lesbian Painter</title> <author>Louise Fishman</author> <respStmt> <persName>Haley Beardsley</persName> <resp>Editor, encoder</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Erica Delsandro</persName> <resp>Investigator, editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Margaret Hunter</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Diane Jakacki</persName> <resp>Invesigator, encoder</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Sophie McQuaide</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Olivia Martin</persName> <resp>Editor, encoder</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Bri Perea</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Roger Rothman</persName> <resp>Investigator, editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Kaitlyn Segreti</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Maggie Smith</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Maya Wadhwa</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Ricky Rodriguez</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Lucy Wadsworth</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <funder>Bucknell University Humanities Center</funder> <funder>Bucknell University Office of Undergraduate Research</funder> <funder>The Mellon Foundation</funder> <funder>National Endowment for the Humanities</funder> </titleStmt> <publicationStmt> <distributor> <name>Bucknell University</name> <address> <street>One Dent Drive</street> <settlement>Lewisburg</settlement> <region>Pennsylvania</region> <postCode>17837</postCode> </address> </distributor> <availability> <licence>Bucknell Heresies Project: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)</licence> <licence>Heresies journal: © Heresies Collective</licence> </availability> </publicationStmt> <sourceDesc> <biblStruct> <analytic> <title>Heresies Issue #3: Lesbian Art and Artists</title> </analytic> <monogr> <imprint> <publisher>HERESIES: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics</publisher> <pubPlace> <address> <name>Heresies</name> <postBox>P.O. Boxx 766, Canal Street Station</postBox> <settlement>New York</settlement> <region>New York</region> <postCode>10013</postCode> </address> </pubPlace> </imprint> </monogr> </biblStruct> </sourceDesc> </fileDesc> <xenoData><rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:as="http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#" xmlns:cwrc="http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:geo="http://www.geonames.org/ontology#" xmlns:oa="http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#" xmlns:schema="http://schema.org/" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" xmlns:fabio="https://purl.org/spar/fabio#" xmlns:bf="http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#" xmlns:cito="https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#" xmlns:org="http://www.w3.org/ns/org#"> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209202719500", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:27:19.500Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:27:19.500Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209202719500#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209202719500#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6688739", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203840848", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:38:40.848Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:38:40.848Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203840848#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203840848#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q35548", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203937243", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:39:37.243Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:39:37.243Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203937243#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203937243#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q301", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203946928", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:39:46.928Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:39:46.928Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203946928#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209203946928#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[2]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q207447", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204011470", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:40:11.470Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:40:11.470Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204011470#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204011470#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[3]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5589", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204024477", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:40:24.477Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:40:24.477Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204024477#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204024477#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[4]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q275610", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204040480", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:40:40.480Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:40:40.480Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204040480#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204040480#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[5]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q46408", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204052341", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:40:52.341Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:40:52.341Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204052341#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204052341#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[6]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q215457", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204102941", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:41:02.941Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:41:02.941Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204102941#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204102941#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[7]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q35548", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204110820", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:41:10.820Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:41:10.820Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204110820#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204110820#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[8]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q40599", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204119658", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-10T01:41:19.658Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-10T01:41:19.658Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/sophiemcquaide", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Sophie McQuaide" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204119658#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sophiemcquaide/heresies/main/issue03/texts/fishman2.xml?person_annotation_20230209204119658#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/p[4]/persName[9]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7814", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf-writer.leaf-vre.org", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "2.3.1" } }]]> </rdf:Description> </rdf:RDF></xenoData></teiHeader> <text> <body> <pb n="74" facs="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BucknellDSC/heresies/main/issue03/Issue3_images/issue3_076.jpg"/> <head> <title>How I Do It<lb/> Cautionary Advice from a Lesbian Painter</title></head> <byline><persName key="Louise Fishman" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6688739">Louise Fishman</persName></byline> <epigraph> <p>Making paintings is one of the most illuminating and spiritual ways to focus your life. The following comments, advice, and information about my work process are addressed to lesbians who have made a decision to be painters.</p> </epigraph> <div> <head>LOOKING</head> <p>If you look at history you’ll find that almost every school of painting and every individual artist has rediscovered artists of the past or discovered new or different aspects of a particular painting or school of painting out of the specific needs of their own work. Need determines invention. The same has to be true of our needs for past art. As my relationship to my subject matter is very personal, so is my relationship to other painting. If an aspect of paint application in a <persName key="Paul Cézanne" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q35548">Cezanne</persName> interests me, the fact that I may not have responded to the spatial constructs or use of color is of little consequence. At another time, if those things become important to me, l will go back and look for them.</p> <p>I can dislike a painting but find a small part which engages me, a quality of light or some aspect of the drawing. These are things which usually find their way into my work, often because I was approaching them in some way already. A found connection in another painting can help crystalize my thought.</p> <p>It is important not to judge our own responses to paintings as inappropriate. Any place we deny the validity of our thoughts or activities is a place that will weaken our relationship to our art.</p> <p>Try not to cut whole bodies of work out of your vision unless you’ve looked at them and studied them thoroughly: don’t stop looking at <persName key="El Greco" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q301">El Greco</persName> because he’s not Jewish, or <persName key="Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q207447">Chardin</persName> because he’s not an abstract painter or <persName key="Henri Matisse" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5589">Matisse</persName> because he’s not a lesbian. By all means look at <persName key="Agnes Martin" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q275610">Agnes Martin</persName> and <persName key="Georgia O'Keeffe" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q46408">Georgia O’Keefe</persName> and <persName key="Eva Hesse" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q215457">Eva Hesse</persName>. But don’t forget <persName key="Paul Cézanne" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q35548">Cezanne</persName>, <persName key="Édouard Manet" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q40599">Manet</persName> and <persName key="Giotto" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7814">Giotto</persName>. If good painting is what you want to do, then good painting is what you must look at. Take what you want and leave the dreck.</p> </div> <div> <head>DOING</head> <p>My experience has been that I need to go through ritual events before my mind is clear and focused enough to work. It involves an hour or two, or sometimes a day or two; of sweeping the floor, talking on the phone (not to anyone who could be too distracting or disruptive), keeping a journal, writing a letter, sending off bills, doing some sort of exercise or meditation, sitting quietly and reading or drawing. At certain times music has been very distracting.</p> <p>You have to learn what is helpful and what begins to jangle your brain.</p> <p>My experience is that leisure is important to work — so if I only have a little time to work, I try to compress some ritual loosening up into that time. Without the ritual I sabatoge myself. It’s important that these activities take place in the studio.</p> <p>After l’ve gone through this process, I try to take the painting by surprise. I begin as if accidentally (although all the while I have been sneaking glances at the work). Anything in my vision can be as distracting as noise or an emotional interruption.</p> <p>Some people say you must have no thoughts about other people or other things while you are working. often have a rush of imaginary conversations with people, ideas that fill the room. But I don’t stop working. They allow me to unhinge my unconscious. I don’t look for those conversations, but I let them happen. As I get excited about an image forming, I am often also engaged in what seems to be a totally separate thought.</p> <p>Once l’ve started working, the important thing is to keep myself in the studio, despite the fact that I invent lots of reasons why 1 must leave at that precise moment. When l’ve set up a day for painting, there is no pressing activity anywhere, unless 1 construct it on the spot.</p> <p>Sometimes, leaving the studio has to happen. It's never too clear until later whether l’m coping or copping out. As l’m about to leave the studio, l’m often more able to work than before. The brain gives up hugging itself into nonmovement and 1 am free to work again for a while. This is often the time when I do my best work. But there are times when that little joy that happens in working disappears for weeks. And I am suffering, making what seems like endlessly boring, ugly, uninspired forms. I can’t draw worth shit. Everything has become awkward. I feel like l’ve made a terrible mistake being a painter. And this goes on for weeks and weeks. The only thing that gets me through is a lot of complaining to a friend or my lover. I need them to encourage me into believing that I really am a painter and my troubles are temporary.</p> <p>The other thing that helps is knowing from past experience that this is the time of the hardest struggle and is usually the time when I learn the most about painting. And my memory is suddenly very short, like this is the first time this has ever happened to me.</p> <p>This is the most important time to stay with the work. Then there’s a short time when something changes, a painting or an idea evolves and there is a little relief in the air. The work is not necessarily better than what came before it, but it represents the end of that particular struggle.</p> <p>At the end of a work day, I usually leave the studio abruptly. I can’t seem to even clean my brushes. I sometimes forget to turn off the lights. If l’ve left a painting that 1 am particularly excited about, I know to expect <pb n="75" facs="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BucknellDSC/heresies/main/issue03/Issue3_images/issue3_077.jpg"/> that by the next day I am often terribly disappointed by what had seemed pure genius. I often return to find a finished painting not at all finished, or a group of paintings I liked the day before suddenly repulsive to me, superficial, eclectic, simplistic.</p> <p>l’ve learned that a quick look can be very damaging. You often see very little of a painting in a quick look, although sometimes you can find fresh clarity about a work. More often than not, 1 am simply cutting off myself and several day’s work, denying the seriousness of that work and those thoughts.</p> <p>I can be a much worse audience than anyone I can imagine. I often switch roles on myself without being aware of it. 1 suddenly have become a person who stepped into my studio from the street, who despises the work because she knows nothing about it and couldn’t care less—a subtle bit of self-mutilation.</p> <p>It’s hard to paint, and it can be impossible if you don't recognize your own trickery. Handling your uncon-scious with firm but caring hands, fully conscious about your work process, is absolutely necessary.</p> </div> <div> <head>INTEGRITY</head> <p>I want us to develop a sense of our strength through the integrity of work, to trust the search for honest imagery through a dialogue with the materials and through a work process devoid of shortcuts. We’ve got to be ready to destroy anything that comes up in our painting which is less than what finally has a degree of clarity which we as artists using our most critical thinking can recognize.</p> <p>I want to caution against the dangers of purposefully and consciously setting out to make lesbian or feminist imagery or any other imagery which does not emerge honestly from the rigors of work. The chief danger as I see it lies in losing direct touch with the art, risking an involvement with a potentially superficial concern. This is not to say that the question of feminist or lesbian imagery is not a legitimate concern but rather to caution against its forced use.</p> <p>We can’t allow anything unworthy to distract us from working as intensely as possible. Distraction can be in the form of pressures about imagery, methods of working or process, anything that is characterized as the right way" or the only way." Or it can be in the form of people who are disruptive to our work, our sanity, our clarity, our ability to believe in ourselves. Get the creeps out of your head and out of your studio.</p> <p>We must be willing to trust our own impulses about what the source of our work is—and where to go with it. It takes long periods of time, perhaps years, to understand which habits are constructive, to discover what an honest source of inspiration is and to trust that source of inspiration.</p> <p>Be clear about people’s motives in visiting your studio, or wanting to discuss your work. Only let in people that you trust, unless there is something you want from them (a dealer, etc.). Know what you want from them and weigh that against the disruption of your time, your privacy, your space. These things are to be cherished and protected. It’s important to be conscious of anything that may build up inside you that could make you feel bad about yourself. Ultimately that takes a masochistic turn and the work suffers.</p> <p>Care for yourself. Through that caring you can make a commitment to your work.</p> </div> </body> </text> </TEI>
THE TAPES Document <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-model href="https://www.tei-c.org/release/xml/tei/custom/schema/relaxng/tei_all.rng" type="application/xml" schematypens="http://relaxng.org/ns/structure/1.0"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LEAF-VRE/code_snippets/refs/heads/main/CSS/leaf.css"?><TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <teiHeader> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title>The Tapes</title> <editor>Louisde Fishman</editor> <respStmt> <persName>Eowyn Andres</persName> <resp>Editor (2024-Present)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Haley Beardsley</persName> <resp>Editor (2021-2024)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Lyndon Beier</persName> <resp>Editor (2023-2025)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Erica Delsandro</persName> <resp>Investigator, editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Mia DeRoco</persName> <resp>Editor (2023-2025)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Margaret Hunter</persName> <resp>Editor (2021-2024)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Diane Jakacki</persName> <resp>Invesigator, encoder</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Sophie McQuaide</persName> <resp>Editor (2021-2023)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Olivia Martin</persName> <resp>Editor, encoder (2021)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Zoha Nadeer</persName> <resp>Editor (2022-2023)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Bri Perea</persName> <resp>Editor (2022-2023)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Carrie Pirmann</persName> <resp>HTR editor, encoder (2023-Present)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Ricky Rodriguez</persName> <resp>Editor (2022-2023)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Roger Rothman</persName> <resp>Investigator, editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Valeria Riley</persName> <resp>Editor (2024-Present)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Zaely Rodriguez</persName> <resp>Editor (2025-Present)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Kaitlyn Segreti</persName> <resp>Editor (2021-2025)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Maggie Smith</persName> <resp>Editor (2021-2024)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Maya Wadhwa</persName> <resp>Editor (2021-2023)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Kelly Troop</persName> <resp>Editor (2023-2025)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Lucy Wadsworth</persName> <resp>Editor (2022-2025)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Anna Marie Wingard</persName> <resp>Editor (2023-2025)</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Olivia Wychock</persName> <resp>Graduate Editor (2024-Present)</resp> </respStmt> <funder>Bucknell University Humanities Center</funder> <funder>Bucknell University Office of Undergraduate Research</funder> <funder>The Mellon Foundation</funder> <funder>National Endowment for the Humanities</funder> </titleStmt> <publicationStmt> <distributor> <name>Bucknell University</name> <address> <street>One Dent Drive</street> <settlement>Lewisburg</settlement> <region>Pennsylvania</region> <postCode>17837</postCode> </address> </distributor> <availability> <licence>Bucknell Heresies Project: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)</licence> <licence>Heresies journal: © Heresies Collective</licence> </availability> </publicationStmt> <sourceDesc> <biblStruct> <analytic> <title>Lesbian Art and Artists</title> </analytic> <monogr> <imprint> <publisher>HERESIES: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics</publisher> <pubPlace> <address> <name>Heresies</name> <postBox>P.O. Boxx 766, Canal Street Station</postBox> <settlement>New York</settlement> <region>New York</region> <postCode>10013</postCode> </address> </pubPlace> </imprint> </monogr> </biblStruct> </sourceDesc> </fileDesc> <xenoData><rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:as="http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#" xmlns:cwrc="http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:geo="http://www.geonames.org/ontology#" xmlns:oa="http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#" xmlns:schema="http://schema.org/" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" xmlns:fabio="https://purl.org/spar/fabio#" xmlns:bf="http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#" xmlns:cito="https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#" xmlns:org="http://www.w3.org/ns/org#"/></xenoData></teiHeader> <text> <body> <pb n="15" facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_015_1.jpg"/> <head>The Tapes</head> <byline>Edited by <persName key="Louise Fishman" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6688739">Louise Fishman</persName> Photographs by Betsy Crowell</byline> <div> <quote>"Women have often felt insane when cleaving to the truth of our experience. Our future depends on the sanity of each of us, and we have a profound stake, beyond the personal, in the project of describing our reality as candidly and fully as we can to each other." <persName key="Adrienne Rich" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q270705">Adrienne Rich</persName></quote> <bibl>"Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying," Rich, Adrienne. Heresies, Vol. 1, January, 1977, p. 25.</bibl> <p><title>The Tapes</title> are the edited comments of ten lesbian visual artists who met as a group in New York City during the winter of 1977. Even though many of us had had prior experience in feminist and lesbian groups, none of us had ever before sat down to talk about our lesbianism and our art. For each of us, this new group experience was profoundly moving. Discovering after our first meeting that the experiences of the "older" lesbian artists (age 30-45 years) seemed vastly different than those of the younger artists, we found it necessary to separate into two smaller groups. <title>The Tapes</title> represent, with the exception of the "Coming Out" section, the thinking of the older group. At some time we hope the younger group, which continued to meet, will produce a similar statement.</p> <p>With our goal being to share our experiences as lesbian artists, we found ourselves discussing a myriad of issues, the highlights of which are presented here. A number of surprising facts emerged. Only two of us had identified as lesbians for more than four years. As would be expected, the experience of being a lesbian in the fifties and sixties had a strong impact on our politics and attitudes. The majority of the group had not experienced the quality of oppression, repression, rage, and despair that only the fifties could inspire. Four out of six of us in the older group are mothers and the subject of motherhood became one of the most profound and painful issues to emerge. That the institution of motherhood for these women artists was a greater source of oppression than that of being identified as a lesbian and that their motherhood functioned initially as a survival mechanism were both striking revelations. A less surprising discussion included the complexity of relationships with our mothers, sources of great difficulty as well as inspiration. The section which mentions established women artists is short because of the probability of being taken to court for divulging some of our personal knowledge or sharing some well-worn secrets about those mighty ladies. The sections on anger, energy, and work should be further amplified by other lesbian artists. This is the area of <title>The Tapes</title> which I find most important to me as a painter—the information which was kept a mystery to most of us—probably to maintain certain myths about the process of making art. Although only fragments are presented here, at least it is a beginning for the sharing of "secrets."</p> <p>It was difficult for us to focus on the energizing effects of our lesbianism on our work. Obviously, this is the area which needs the most thought. Some of us sense that we have special powers and great potential to make the best art. Why is that? Coming out gave most of us a great deal of energy for our work. But what is it about being a lesbian that really affects our work directly and makes it different from other work, if it is different? What does lesbian art look like? This subject was only touched upon during our discussions. The fact that there is only a handful of us scattered here and there and even less who are exhibiting our work or who have a degree of visibility as artists and as lesbians seems to indicate the powerful male machinery and the myths which control an artist even in her studio. The anguish of working that is evidenced in this article is some indication of how much guilt we carry around with us for having done it at all. As a community, we seem to be in a comparable place to that of the feminist art community five years ago, yet with the double jeopardy of coming out as lesbians as well as artists. Our need for community is overwhelming and yet, as <title>The Tapes</title> reveal, we have ambivalence even about that. Forming a community is almost impossible when ninety percent of its potential members choose to remain in the closet. I see <title>The Tapes</title> as a nudge toward a common ground for lesbian artists. At the very least, it will provide information about how some of us live and work and what we are thinking about—examples of the fact of our existence.</p> <byline><persName key="Louise Fishman" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6688739">Louise Fishman</persName></byline> </div> <div> <head>COMING OUT</head> <quote>"My mother found me in bed with a woman when I was sixteen. I was scared to death. She walked over to me and said, You are swine' and slapped me as hard as she could. I raced out of the house and I was out in the night.... My mother never looked for me.... I disgusted myself, and yet, this relationship was my only happiness. With all the politics, that rejection is never diminished."</quote> <quote>"I am thirty-eight. I came out as a lesbian twenty-one years ago, in 1956. I came out publicly about five years ago, at a <orgName>Women's Ad Hoc Committee</orgName> meeting. There was no comment from anyone there. It was as if I'd sneezed. When I came out I also made an important commitment to being an artist. The two seemed to go <pb n="16" facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_016_0.jpg"/> hand in hand in nourishing each other... My father stopped supporting me and for the first time I was forced to start thinking about how I was going to survive.</quote> <quote>"I didn't watch a movie, watch a TV program, have a conversation with a man for two years. I didn't read a critical art journal, nothing. Ideally, I would have liked to have lived that experience for ten years, intensely involved with another woman."</quote> <quote>"I felt a speedy and incredible rush of energy for awhile. However, I think an equal amount of energy, a different kind of energy, goes into just sustaining the center of myself around being a lesbian."</quote> <quote>"In coming out, I felt magical for the first time in my life, and I felt I could use that magic in my painting."</quote> <quote>"I am twenty-three. I came out about a year ago. When I was in art school a lesbian painter came to speak. I think the response she got made me realize there was no way a woman could have her experience, her art taken seriously (let alone come out as a lesbian) in that context. I dated one of my male professors, believing it to be a sure method of getting attention for myself as an artist.... I've got to be a lesbian in order to be a painter because there is no other way in this world that I can make art that is my own. I feel that I do have a strong support group. Two lesbians/painters/friends live in my building. We've been to the same art school and listened to the same rhetoric. I don't want to talk like the boys do. I want my language to come directly from my work. We are having a very hard time with this (language) which may have to do with still not believing in ourselves."</quote> <quote> "I feel that I came out through the Women's Movement, with a certain support group around me which made it very easy; very, very, comfortable. That support group, combined with my work, was a place where I could deal with certain parts of myself, so I really confronted my lesbianism in my work and it was just a matter then of removing the hidden parts of it in my work, taking the layers away, admitting what was in the work. Once that was bared, it was obvious. I think that I found a real support group in being a lesbian. That was not a painful experience for me. But what I had not found was a support group as a lesbian artist. I am pretty fortunate. I am always hired as a visiting lesbian artist. I can be out pretty much wherever I go.</quote> <quote>"I came out within the past year. I think it is directly related to focusing on whether I could be a painter or not."</quote> <quote>"It seems very clear to me that I am different and it takes me a long time to remember that it's because I am a lesbian.... I feel that when I came out I went in. It's like everyone I know seems to come out. And I have been thinking lately about the people who don't. My relationships with them have been very different and not as important."</quote> <quote>"I am twenty-two. I came out at school last year. I know I've been a lesbian for a long time but it was a matter of being afraid to admit it to myself. But I think I was smart enough along the way to cultivate friends who were supportive and sympathetic and shared a lot of my feelings and ideas so that by the time I was ready to come out publicly I had already surrounded myself with people who would support me.... I am a painter and one of the things that really concerns me now is bringing together my feelings about being a lesbian and my feelings about painting, because I feel as though they have been really separate. Now I'm trying to empty out a lot of the garbage from school. The rhetoric is sort of clattering in my head.... One of the big problems I have in painting is that I feel that my paintings aren't mine. I have trouble doing them and I feel they don't come from me. For that reason I have a feeling I am always lying. Lying to myself and not taking myself or the work seriously."</quote> </div> <div> <head>MOTHERHOOD</head> <quote>"Ihave been denied my motherhood. I am not allowed to have my children, to have a say about where my children go to school or what's to become of them. I am permitted to see them on weekends. I am not permitted to take my children for two months in the summer....I was not allowed to have my children in my loft for two years because I am schizophrenic and because I went to a looney bin. And because I am considered by my society and by my husband not fit to be a mother. The children have made the bridge by coming to me and making other things possible.... I would not choose to have my children all year round because I want to paint. But I would choose to have them for a month or six weeks in the summer and I am not permitted that."</quote> <quote>"My children are some of my closest friends. I am the only person here who has made the choice to throw my lot in with the kids. I have kept peace and haven't gone <pb n="17" facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_017_1.jpg"/> through the terrible struggles and pain which you all have. But on the other hand, I am thirty-eight years old and have no work which really moves me. It's going to take me a long time now to develop that, having made the choice I made. I have paid a big price for that choice."</quote> <quote>"I don't have children and my family doesn't think I'm a person because 1 haven't. I had an abortion. It was a choice that I'm only beginning to forgive myself for now. Before that I thought abortion was murder. But when I got pregnant I didn't care. I would rather kill than to have men in my life. I couldn't have been a painter. Everything would have been destroyed."</quote> <quote>"I don't feel my lesbian oppression as greatly as I have felt oppression as a mother. That isolation is just so brutal that I had to get out of it. It was killing me. I don't feel that about being a lesbian."</quote> <quote>For me, having a child was the only way there could be a possible experience of direct physical love, because I could not feel any honest physical love with a male and physical love with a female was taboo. So that was my inspiration to have a child.... But then when I had the child I had nothing but hatred for it because it took me from the studio."</quote> <quote>"Having a child was the only way I knew to love myself. I loved being pregnant. I had incredible energy. I was creative.... I fell in love with my body. I was back in my studio very quickly. It didn't interfere with my work. I had a good marriage. But I really felt that I had to leave it. I felt that way before I came out.... When I came out it scared the shit out of me. At first I thought that no one liked me anymore, even my best friends. I stopped asking things of people. Then a year later I left my children. I got to the point where I found myself crying week after week after week and then I lived with them again and I think you cannot do that unless you have a lot of support. I have lost a lot of time and history is against me."</quote> <quote>"My major quilt paintings came out of my first pregnancy when I had the twins. I was tapping into their growth and I painted ten enormous quilts during that pregnancy."</quote> <quote>"There was no social understanding for a woman who became a mother to separate herself to become an artist. I think it is categorically impossible to do both. .. without help. I left a six-month-old baby. And I cried for three years."</quote> </div> <div> <head>OUR MOTHERS</head> <quote>"I come from a family which includes two women artists, my mother and my aunt, but neither of them presented me with a real alternative to becoming a secretary, a teacher, or a housewife because of their terrible and unfulfilled struggle to make art. My mother never stopped being a housewife, never was able to totally pursue her work, although she paints much of the time and is fairly sophisticated in her knowledge of art. She is serious but never has made a mark for herself. She will never stop being primarily my father's wife. My aunt was an alcoholic, had two nervous breakdowns and ended up killing herself at the age of fifty-nine, after spending thirty years studying painting, including a summer with <persName key="David Alfaro Siqueiros" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q315647">Siqueiros</persName> and a year at the <orgName key="Barnes Foundation" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q808462">Barnes Foundation</orgName>. She had fifteen or so one-woman shows and is in four major museum collections. She married a man who was a writer and an intellectual who hated her energy and her gift and spent all his waking hours beating her down. On her death bed she was worried that he would not be able to get along without her, despite the fact that he had watched her as she slowly killed herself and did nothing to help. Both of their concerns for their men overshadowed any real help they could give me."</quote> <quote>"My mother is totally into self-denial. She is a very creative, positive woman. ... She is "the great woman behind the man."</quote> <quote>"The death of my mother-in-law woke me up to a direct vision of the content of my anger and my need for a rite of passage.... I perceived her death as all her woman-energy turned against her. I had the incredible feeling that I was going to die too if I didn't do something. My selves had gotten highly separated. I was feeling very unreal... and her death coincided with that."</quote> <quote>"My mother died this year. She kept worrying that I would be alone because I didn't have children. I never worried about that before... but those being her parting words, I was filled with worry."</quote> <quote>"<persName key="Agnes Martin" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q275610">Agnes Martin</persName> told me that she was not free to be a painter until her mother died and she told me I would be that way too. She said, T was on the Staten Island ferry and I heard my mother call "Agnes and I knew that she had died and I was happy because I was free to paint <pb n="18" facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_018_1.jpg"/> and I could let go of caring about her. ...As you know, Agnes was alone and totally accepted the joy of her own aloneness. People have different needs."</quote> <quote>"I remember being downstairs in my basement studio in my parent's house when I was in college. I was painting a black painting. I went upstairs to have a cup of coffee and my mother came out of her studio and said, "I'm working on a black painting" She thought it was wonderful because it meant we were one and the same person. That was a very frightening intrusion to me, yet there was something mystical about it."</quote> <quote>As a child and as a young woman, I was constantly seeking female support—in terms of love, and especially as it related to my sense of selfness as an artist and a poet. Anytime I made a bid for female support the discussion was always that I was too sloppy, if I would only comb my hair some man would find me attractive. When I would go to a female for support, had that woman ever reached out... but she didn't. She gave me a whole list of what I was doing wrong and why I wasn't making it in straight society. What I needed was to straighten out and be like other women. That support was the same I got from my mother and father."</quote> </div> <div> <head>THE ART WORLD</head> <quote>"When I think of how I can relate to well-known women artists—<persName key="Louise Nevelson" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7531">Louise Nevelson</persName> is someone who stuck with the fight. Although she made herself into some kind of witch/sibyl. She isolated herself by the costume. <persName key="Martha Graham" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q487604">Martha Graham</persName> did the same thing. You could not walk up to Louise or Martha and say, 'Hey, let's go have a cup of coffee.'"</quote> <quote>"The New York political art world is decadent.... It's perverted to the point that no one in it can have a noble, honest, or true friendship.... I find the work of that community to be abysmally dull, boring, repetitive, incestuous, and I don't think anybody has had an idea since <persName key="Duchamp, Marcel" ref="http://viaf.org/viaf/5043149068581165730007/">Duchamp</persName>.</quote> <quote>"Some women are a lot like <persName key="Garbo" ref="http://viaf.org/viaf/3725159248044004870000/">Garbo</persName> cashing in on homosexual and heterosexual males. She's the muse on the pedestal. These women make themselves goddesses. Men accept them and gradually their work is also permitted. But the men define what kind of women they are going to accept and how they are going to accept them."</quote> <quote>"Inspiration never comes from fame. The male bureaucratic power system from which I receive my support absolutely is a star system, a bad translation of the movie system into the art world."</quote> <quote>"Two of our country's most famous and respected women artists have never expressed their lesbianism publicly. But it became quite clear to me that any woman who made it through to creative art had expressed lesbianism because they had expressed the totally feminine position in the universe."</quote> </div> <div> <head>ENERGY (A DIALOGUE)</head> <quote>"I have to take naps after I make two moves back and forth to the painting. I work very intensely for those moments and I sleep for an hour to prepare myself for more work."</quote> <quote>"When I have my psychic energies up to do a piece, that is when my full self is its healthiest. I am having a flower. As a woman I have options that very few other people on this planet have: to bring forth flowers."</quote> <quote>"Energy is something I'm constantly struggling with. It's very important for me to know the place it comes from."</quote> <quote>"It is sparked by love, in its divinest form. It comes from being in love and catching passion. The passion can come from another person. It can come from your mind."</quote> <quote>"Maybe my struggle is on a more basic level—which is how to use the love that l have."</quote> <quote>"How to use it constructively. And not to have wrong loves. I've spent my life having wrong loves. "Wrong loves are in my past now. Misusing energy is what gets in my way."</quote> <quote>"That's my magilla. I am a libertine. I am a spendthrift with energy. I am profligate and I should be locked up. I sit on six sticks of dynamite just to sit on the dynamite. And then nothing's done.... I am always shorting. I collapse because before I've ever gotten to anything, I have used all the energy. I have never learned how to use the space between the fuse and the time the dynamite goes off.... I spend a lot of time in bed recovering from energy attacks."</quote> <quote>"All my life I have been punished for my energy. Did they ever call you a strong, domineering female?"</quote> <pb n="19" facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_019_1.jpg"/> <quote> "No. But have you ever been told by somebody that you need more rest than anyone else? That you're burning the candle at both ends? My father once told me that while I'm going I should stick a broom up my ass and sweep on my way."</quote> </div> <div> <head>WORK</head> <quote>"The experience of working is a microcosm of my whole life...the way I coerce a shape into forming, the severity of my discipline...and the enormous doubting. Now I am making paintings on paper that are about a way of birthing a shape. Originally the shapes were about exterior spaces. They are starting to be more about internal spaces. I start with nothing in my head, on the paper, and with no feeling of a history of previous work. When I am in front of a painting I don't even know how to hold a pencil, I forget everything know...as if I was starting out at three years of age.... The way I suffer a form through, there are so many things I will not allow to happen...the way I won't allow them to happen in my life.... This is a source of a lot of power and a lot of problems in the work. I can't accept a painting as having any meaning until it has gone through changes and changes, until many things are lost and it looks very simple and it doesn't look at all like it has gone through what it has gone through. The painting becomes separate and doesn't feel as though I had made it. I've discovered lately that the lines in my painting sometimes read as if they were light and sometimes as an 'edge,' like the way light sometimes falls on a bird flying outside my window, one minute it is soaked with light, the next, the bird has moved out of the light and I can see its outline against the sky."</quote> <quote>"I use very specific, concrete imagery whenever I am intensely exploring something. And then I abstract until I can claim my image. As I understand it better, that's how I would describe my process. My life has gone through dramatic changes and my work just diaries them. The big breakthrough was when I did a whole environment on pain.... I realized then that I had finally claimed my pain. It freed me to celebrate, to do performance, to do ritual."</quote> <quote>"What you have to do to get yourself to paint, doing one stroke and going to bed for four hours...(is) that Jungian thing of exposing the underlevels. You've made a mask and become a spirit. And so you have to do things or you won't come back. ..that old shaman thing ...you go to heal somebody and you catch their disease and may never come back. It's like that. You go beyond. You pay psychically in going to the underlayer of the personality structure and bringing up stuff that you don't know and don't know where it's going. I never even dealt with birth nor would I want to because I tend to be a classical artist and my art is removed from my emotions. I am not an expressionist. Maybe that's what keeps me from going bananas."</quote> <quote>"My work is very secretive. There are a lot of cubby-holes and dark spaces that one could get caught where the light doesn't come in. And the light distorts what the thing is and only gives you a hint of what that form looks like."</quote> <quote>"The only time I am not angry is when I am painting. And I don't want to destroy that by putting politics all over it. So that the one place I am totally human, the only place where I am the best possible person—which is in my art—gets fucked up with hating my father, resenting my brother, and being angry at all males and straight women."</quote> <quote>"When I'm getting ready for a show I'm thinking about my paintings all the time, and every time I do something connected to the show I have difficulty being sexual. I don't have a sexual feeling in my body. I feel like I'm dying. One thing I've learned in the last ten years is that if you aren't sexual with people they leave."</quote> <quote>"After a show, I've left several parties in my honor, generally crying. I walk home and lock the door and if anybody is dumb enough to come and pound on the door and say 'Why aren't you coming to the party?', I scream I never want to see you again. It doesn't generally endear me to them."</quote> <quote>"My work process is so painful to me that I always need reassurance from other women that it's OK, that it's legitimate."</quote> <quote>"I used to think my work was very related to a lot of things that were going on in contemporary painting and I used to think there were certain young painters who were very important. I've been thinking more and more about the fact that with few exceptions they really don't have the kind of quality I thought they had. If we're really going to do it, let's go back to the great art of the past. We set our sights too low. As lesbians we have the potential for making great art. </quote> </div> <pb n="20" facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_020_1.jpg"/> <div> <head>ANGER</head> <quote>"We each carry around enormous rage. I think that the threat in my life has been that my rage would destroy me, and until very recently, that has been a real possibility. We need to focus our rage so that it becomes usable energy."</quote> <quote>"It has been a lesbian's role to be angry. I object to that as a pressure for my own identity."</quote> <quote>There are different moral degrees of anger. There's the anger where I say I could really murder. And that's absolute, malicious sin. And I believe it's sin to my advantage. Then there is anger because I have been done in until I'm forty-five and stopped from being able to be an artist because I've had to go to bed for nine or ten months because I've been hurt. And that is an anger that I self-indulgently allow myself to be plowed under with ...and it's a question of character strength to overcome that. And then there's an anger of 'Dammit, I'm going to do it', which I think fuses the work and is a very healthy anger...in itself it can be a very useful and motivating force...or it can be very self-defeating and you can get in a very paranoid fixation that can destroy you."</quote> </div> <div> <head>POSITIVE EFFECTS OF OUR LESBIANISM ON OUR WORK</head> <quote>"Before the Gay Liberation Movement I felt like a maniac, not able to accept the reality of my queerness. I couldn't direct my full energy to my work."</quote> <quote>"(Being a lesbian) allows my womanness to be all mine. I have all that force behind my work. And that's what makes a difference.... The whole process of finding myself as a woman sexually and finding my course as an artist is a simultaneous process."</quote> <quote>"There's that level of physical comfort, being able to relax, that's really important and it naturally affects my work."</quote> <quote>"It's that level of risk we encounter so much of the time ...it allows me the ability to take more risks in my work."</quote> <quote>"Ithink it's good that men denied me a peer relationship. It made me stronger in my resolve that the art was important."</quote> <quote>"T've received the encouragement and the validation of my existence for things I have been vaguely, slowly moving toward all my life."</quote> <quote>"The more out front I become as a lesbian the more affirmation I receive from other lesbians and some straight women."</quote> <quote>"Tve been less terrified to make changes. ..so that I am now able to go into music or dance."</quote> <quote>"We don't relate to men much which makes it much easier for us to make art. I can be a primitive in my own time because of the fact that I am a lesbian. That gives me a lot of energy for my work, a lot of choice. My work can become more peculiar and its peculiarity is not threatening to me."</quote> </div> <div> <head>COMMUNITY</head> <quote>"I feel very confused as to what my community is. There is no lesbian community of artists, no economic community.... I am certain that if it was a lesbian political gathering (instead of my show) there would have been a community. There is a power community for political events. And yet the artist is way ahead of politics in a way. The lesbian art community could never get the support which the lesbian political community can receive."</quote> <quote>"I was never very much accepted by the lesbian radical community. I was mystical and religious. I had had this background of being involved with men, but at the same time, I had always known <persName key="Agnes Martin" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q275610">Agnes Martin</persName> and written about her.... Then I went to work with the Byrd Hoffman School. The Byrd Hoffman School was creating art out of personal madness. It was a predominantly homosexual community. I found it personally very helpful. That community was rather like <persName key="Harry Stack Sullivan" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q354331">Harry Stack Sullivan's</persName>- homosexual ward at <orgName>Shepherd Pratt Hospital</orgName>. The idea of a healing community, people healing each other. I came out in that group."</quote> <quote>"It's becoming clearer to me, on hearing everybody talk, that if we don't get a community together we're not going to survive. I have seen so many brilliant women—with all kinds of personal power—fail. They have killed themselves, gone mad, dissipated their energies. With all the pride of lesbiana we could all still go down the drain."</quote> <quote>"We are a group of people who have traditionally been <pb n="21" facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_021.jpg"/> covert, secretive, about every move we make. You can't come out on the job, you can't tell your parents, youre not sure you want to tell your kids yet. It's such a traditional pattern to be secretive that it's like a story about a bunch of prospectors who couldn't sit next to each other on the porch because they might shoot each other if somebody got too close. Secretiveness breeds a very territorial sense about protection and armament."</quote> <quote>"I certainly think that we have the least options in terms of funding, money, gallery space, critics. If we want to be visible there are no options. At all. God forbid that there should be a lesbian show in the <orgName key="Museum of Modern Art" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q188740">Museum of Modern Art</orgName> and that somebody would condescendingly write about it in <orgName key="The New York Times" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q9684">The New York Times</orgName>. The last thing they would see is the painting. I always get told by men how angry I am, how hostile I am, how domineering I am. And I'm sure I am. I think that because lesbians are the outcasts of the sexual world, much more so than male homosexuals, by being pariahs or lepers we have a sort of honesty of despair."</quote> <quote>"If there was more of a connection for my work, more of a lesbian art community, it might ease up some of my panic about putting my work out into a totally remote space."</quote> <quote>"The idea of community is slightly threatening because of the fact that it involves more commitments to other people. The more I become involved with painting, the fewer people I want around me."</quote> <quote>"I think that what we are looking for is intelligent, inspirational material from other human beings. And honest feedback...I am looking for a creative milieu in which to function."</quote> <quote>"What I've been hunting for is a type of community in which the life as well as the art give caliber to the spirit."</quote> <quote>"Community is hard because of the demons of jealousy and competitiveness."</quote> <quote>"Everyone here has stated that what we respect is rigor and discipline in ourselves. I would like a community that has that commitment."</quote> <quote>"One thing I've found out over the years of being very idealistic about collaboration is that collaboration is usually about who gets to be president. It's a very political act that I don't think is possible outside of primitive tribes where people are structured to do a dance together, for centuries, for religious purposes."</quote> <quote>"There is great difficulty in developing language in an historically male culture, with a male esthetic system, being taught by males that <persName key="Jackson Pollock" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q37571">Jackson Pollock</persName> was the painter. Of course I like <persName key="Fra Angelico" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5664">Fra Angelico</persName> and of course I like <persName key="Giotto" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7814">Giotto</persName>, and of course I am inspired by <persName key="Edgar Degas" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q46373">Degas</persName>. But I think our problem is to develop a valid female esthetic system, a female language with almost no precedents."</quote> <quote>"I feel that it is very important for women to assert being lesbians, to assert being totally feminine, because I think a female support system of sexual sympathy is very necessary in the arts."</quote> <quote>"We must develop a context for women's art, which is influenced by so much of what you are describing. We must ask questions, is there a feminist sensibility, or even a lesbian sensibility? We make art in the context of other art...and we need the context of other women's art to make our own art unique. The visible art is the male art; that is the art that affects us. The other art which has affected me I have sought out, such as the art of non-Western cultures or non-white art. And now, the beginning visibility of the art of other women. It is a very slow process. The more visibility the better. The more we talk about our work, the better. Out of this, something will emerge which is clearer about who we are as artists, as mothers, and as lesbians."</quote> <p><emph>Information about the participants in The Tapes</emph>: all are white and college-educated; four of the women are mothers; two are from working-class backgrounds three from upper-middle-class backgrounds; and six from middle-class backgrounds. All live in New York City. We range in age from twenty-one to forty-five years. Two women have identified as lesbians for about eighteen years, the rest from one to four years. One woman is in art school, six are painters, one woman is involved in ritual performance and makes sculpture, one is presently making a theater piece, and one is a photographer. Some of us work part-time jobs, a couple of us teach and collect unemployment when we can, and one of us works full-time. All of the women, except for two, are in the collective responsible for the third issue of Heresies. Participants for the three sessions were Bestsy Crowell, <persName key="Betsy Damon" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q43078535">Betsy Damon</persName>, <persName key="Louise Fishman" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6688739">Louise Fishman</persName>, <persName key="Harmony Hammond" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5659529">Harmony Hammond</persName>, Sarah Whitworth, and <persName key="Ann Wilson" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q258053" cert="low">Ann Wilson</persName>. Also participating in the first discussion on "Coming Out" were Rose Fichtenholtz, <persName key="Amy Sillman" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q481952">Amy Sillman</persName>, Christine Wade, and <persName key="Webster, Kathy L." ref="http://viaf.org/viaf/36463058/">Kathy Webster</persName>. Betsy Crowell took photographs and assisted in transcribing and editing the final material.</p> </div> </body> <back> <p> Louise Fishman is a painter who lives in New York City. Betsy Crowell is a freelance photographer. </p> </back> </text> </TEI>
From the Lesbian Issue Collective: Document <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-model href="https://www.tei-c.org/release/xml/tei/custom/schema/relaxng/tei_all.rng" type="application/xml" schematypens="http://relaxng.org/ns/structure/1.0"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LEAF-VRE/code_snippets/refs/heads/main/CSS/leaf.css"?><TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <teiHeader> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title>"From The Lesbian Issue Collective</title> <author>Collective</author> <respStmt> <persName>Haley Beardsley</persName> <resp>Editor, encoder</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Erica Delsandro</persName> <resp>Investigator, editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Margaret Hunter</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Diane Jakacki</persName> <resp>Invesigator, encoder</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Sophie McQuaide</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Olivia Martin</persName> <resp>Editor, encoder</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Bri Perea</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Roger Rothman</persName> <resp>Investigator, editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Kaitlyn Segreti</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Maggie Smith</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Maya Wadhwa</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Lucy Wadswoth</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Ricky Rodriguez</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <respStmt> <persName>Zoha Nadeer</persName> <resp>Editor</resp> </respStmt> <funder>Bucknell University Humanities Center</funder> <funder>Bucknell University Office of Undergraduate Research</funder> <funder>The Mellon Foundation</funder> <funder>National Endowment for the Humanities</funder> </titleStmt> <publicationStmt> <distributor> <name>Bucknell University</name> <address> <street>One Dent Drive</street> <settlement>Lewisburg</settlement> <region>Pennsylvania</region> <postCode>17837</postCode> </address> </distributor> <availability> <licence>Bucknell Heresies Project: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)</licence> <licence>Heresies journal: © Heresies Collective</licence> </availability> </publicationStmt> <sourceDesc> <biblStruct> <analytic> <title>Heresies Issue 3: Lesbian Art and Artists</title> </analytic> <monogr> <imprint> <publisher>HERESIES: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics</publisher> <pubPlace> <address> <name>Heresies</name> <postBox>P.O. Boxx 766, Canal Street Station</postBox> <settlement>New York</settlement> <region>New York</region> <postCode>10013</postCode> </address> </pubPlace> </imprint> </monogr> </biblStruct> </sourceDesc> </fileDesc> <xenoData><rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:as="http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#" xmlns:cwrc="http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:geo="http://www.geonames.org/ontology#" xmlns:oa="http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#" xmlns:schema="http://schema.org/" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" xmlns:fabio="https://purl.org/spar/fabio#" xmlns:bf="http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#" xmlns:cito="https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#" xmlns:org="http://www.w3.org/ns/org#"> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202200936306", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-03T01:09:36.306Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-03T01:09:36.306Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/lucywads", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Lucy Wadsworth" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202200936306#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202200936306#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/byline/persName[2]" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5200026", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202201044898", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-03T01:10:44.898Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-03T01:10:44.898Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/lucywads", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Lucy Wadsworth" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202201044898#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202201044898#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5200026", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202420955", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-03T01:24:20.955Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-03T01:24:20.955Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/lucywads", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Lucy Wadsworth" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202420955#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202420955#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div[4]/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q19663455", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202515256", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-03T01:25:15.256Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-03T01:25:15.256Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/lucywads", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Lucy Wadsworth" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202515256#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202515256#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div[5]/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4492765", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202731279", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-03T01:27:31.279Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-03T01:27:31.279Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/lucywads", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Lucy Wadsworth" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202731279#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202202731279#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div[6]/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5659529", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202203523906", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-03T01:35:23.906Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-03T01:35:23.906Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/lucywads", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Lucy Wadsworth" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202203523906#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202203523906#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div[9]/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q481952", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202203609314", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-02-03T01:36:09.314Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-02-03T01:36:09.314Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "https://github.com/lucywads", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "Lucy Wadsworth" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202203609314#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230202203609314#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div[10]/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6688739", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> <rdf:Description rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/TR/json-ld/"> <![CDATA[{ "@context": { "dcterms:created": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:created" }, "dcterms:issued": { "@type": "xsd:dateTime", "@id": "dcterms:issued" }, "oa:motivatedBy": { "@type": "oa:Motivation" }, "@language": "en", "rdf": "http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#", "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#", "as": "http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#", "cwrc": "http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/", "geo": "http://www.geonames.org/ontology#", "oa": "http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#", "schema": "http://schema.org/", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "fabio": "https://purl.org/spar/fabio#", "bf": "http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#", "cito": "https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#", "org": "http://www.w3.org/ns/org#" }, "id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230915121039126", "type": "oa:Annotation", "dcterms:created": "2023-09-15T16:10:39.126Z", "dcterms:modified": "2023-09-15T16:10:39.126Z", "dcterms:creator": { "@id": "1", "@type": [ "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "schema:Person" ], "cwrc:hasName": "admin" }, "oa:motivatedBy": "oa:identifying", "oa:hasTarget": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230915121039126#Target", "@type": "oa:SpecificResource", "oa:hasSource": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml", "@type": "dctypes:Text", "dc:format": "text/xml" }, "oa:renderedVia": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" }, "oa:hasSelector": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/2025-08/collective_1_0.xml?person_annotation_20230915121039126#Selector", "@type": "oa:XPathSelector", "rdf:value": "TEI/text/body/div[3]/byline/persName" } }, "oa:hasBody": { "@type": "cwrc:NaturalPerson", "@id": "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q43078535", "dc:format": "text/plain" }, "as:generator": { "@id": "https://leaf.bucknell.edu", "@type": "as:Application", "rdfs:label": "LEAF-Writer", "schema:url": "https://leaf-writer.lincsproject.ca/", "schema:softwareVersion": "3.6.0" } }]]> </rdf:Description> </rdf:RDF></xenoData></teiHeader> <text> <body> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_002_1.jpg" n="2"/> <head>From The Lesbian Issue Collective:</head> <div type="statement"> <p>l’m a writer who struggles constantly with the urge to remain silent.</p> <p>And I understood our collective process as a struggle with silence. Like an individual isolated lesbian, we worked first on self-validation. We talked about the famous respected closet cases—could we get them to come out or figure some way to claim them. (Claiming the "great ones" is a way for a despised group to feel good about itself.) And we spent many many meetings doing consciousness-raising on what it means to be lesbian artists—talking, some of us, about issues we had never discussed before. My excitement in working on this issue of Heresies centered around the hope that many lesbian artists would write us, share their work, and contribute to this dialogue.</p> <p>The standard I used in judging work was based on my wish to be inclusive—to present as much diversity as possible, to present clearly articulated articles even if I disagreed with their content.</p> <p>Others in the collective felt differently. This we discovered as we worked and worked and no longer had time just to talk to each other. We had been too busy when we started—discussing our similarities, our struggles, our fears, and our opportunities as lesbian artists—to get very far in discussing our differences.</p> <byline><persName key="Cynthia Carr" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5200026"/><persName key="Cynthia Carr" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5200026" type="real">Cynthia Carr</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> The only talent I bring to the lesbian collective is my sexual preference, a scorn of self-important pretension, a nose for drivel, and a desire to see to it that we say it like it is. In the past, we have done ourselves and our work a terrible damage by lying about our experience. Driven by a need for the comfort of a common political position, we have all too often allowed rhetoric to pass for truth. Seeking an accommodation with the straight world, we have lied about our essential difference. And in a spirit of loyalty, we have compromised ourselves by supporting thinking and work which is simply bad. There is very little sense of humor in us. We have, by this excusable example, leaned heavily on many closet doors which might otherwise have sprung open. It was my hope that with this issue we might present truly good work by lesbians. Now, as I am about to be pasted up and mechanicaled, I can say that the effort has been exhausting and perilous. And certainly I am too close to the final product to say that we have succeeded.</p> <byline><persName type="real">Betsy Crowell</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> I usually think of myself as part scientist and part magician with certain skills that sometimes make art. Neither feminism nor lesbianism determine the form and content of my work yet it was only with the security of the former and the coming to terms with the latter (the muse) that my life and art began to be uniquely and overtly me.</p> <p>Initially I worked on the issue seeking a community to explore in depth the relationship of lesbianism to the artist and to discover what would happen if lesbian art and artists were brought together. Our editorial collective’s discussions were some of the most provoking and intimate that I have experienced, yet after each I felt a sense of panic. I know that lesbians have made great art, I know that lesbians have been major contributors to culture, and I believe that lesbianism in the largest and most powerful sense of the word has been central not peripheral to the creative world of woman, yet I was worried that we wouldn’t receive sufficient "good” material. I also feared being viewed through society’s homophobic lenses yet I will not obscure the importance of lesbianism to my life and art. The muse and I are inextricably entwined and she is a woman. I struggle continually against any restrictions on my identity while questioning why this culture relentlessly omits and suppresses from discussion and history (even in the feminist community) the essentialness of lesbianism to the creative lives of women.</p> <p>However, there was a far deeper reason for my panic. After nine months of working on this issue 1 felt that our greatest unfaced demon was our own homophobia absorbed by all of us in different ways from a culture so homophobic that it ruthlessly suppresses and punished all exploration of female sexuality. This, coupled with the fact that lesbian artists desperately need visibility and credibility, gave us a common unexamined goal: visibility as matured and serious artists.</p> <p>This is only a beginning. Omitted from the issue is any dialogue that examines the role of lesbianism as central to women claiming full power over their sexuality and that such power is the root of strong and unique art. Do not for a minute imagine that art has to be explicitly about sex or anything so simplistic. I am speaking rather to the fact that a person must be able to put the full force of herself behind her work. Fear of being seen as sexual, fear of the audience, fear of offending heterosexual friends, fear of retribution for creating or being in the issue are only a few of the fears that are real and need to be faced before we can initiate a discussion that begins from a point that assumes that lesbianism is the key to the powerfulness of all women.</p> <byline><persName key="Betsy Damon" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q43078535" role="art">Betsy Damon</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> I wanted an issue on lesbian art and artists that would provoke me; an issue that would challenge all the assumptions I have about lesbians and art; an issue that would leave me filled with questions and with the energy with which to explore the questions further. I wanted lesbians to be excited and disturbed by what they read here, finding glimpses of themselves, as well as a sense of what is missing. What stories are still untold?</p> <p>What are lesbians? What are artists? In trying to reach a working definition of these two most basic questions, a sense of my own alienation from the task before us began to grow. This alienation came from being forced to examine sexuality from within a patriarchal context. A context which has created distinctions and categories in order to maintain its own power and privilege. The advantages gained by society's "power-brokers" through perpetuating and emphasizing the differences among racial, economic, sexual, and religious groups are clear. The most apparent difference between myself and a heterosexual woman; or myself (white, middle-class), and a Chicano working-class woman—is one of privilege. And for me, as a lesbian, as white, as middle-class, to maintain and perpetuate differences that ultimately exist only to deny privilege to some, seems wrong. One way I see myself as a lesbian perpetuating differences is in my focusing on what is and what is not a lesbian. "A woman who does not sleep with men." “Any woman who calls herself a lesbian.” “A woman that loves and sleeps with other women." “What if she sleeps with a man one time? Is she still a lesbian?” “What if she used to sleep with men, used to be married to one, and doesn’t now, but can’t predict the future?" “What is the difference between a woman-identified-woman and a lesbian?” It was in trying to answer questions like these that a sense of futility and absurdity developed. I am not a lesbian. I make love only with women. I am in every way what society calls a lesbian. I will call myself and insist upon being called a lesbian as long as something called a heterosexual or bisexual exists. In all probability, 1 am referring to a sexuality that will never exist inside me. A simple sexuality, without reference to another’s <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_003_1.jpg" n="3"/> gender. All of this is related to the question of circumstance (the time and space I live in) and therefore related to strategy (the means of change): an area l’m far less clear about than that of alienation.</p> <p>The dilemma for me is that regardless of how I view the role such distinctions serve in this society, 1 am brutally oppressed by them, as they have been accepted by most everyone. The fact that I am a lesbian has a profound affect on my life. (My job, my family, my friends always hang in the balance.) While believing that “heterosexual” and “lesbian" are concepts that directly serve to oppress us all, I know full well that as a les bian I am intentionally persecuted and isolated by this society. The nearest weapon to me with which to fight back is the taking of the concept and the word lesbian and claiming it as my own. My continuing to work on this issue is the result of that conclusion.</p> <p>The term “artist" serves a very similar function as the word "lesbian, though the specific effect upon society is quite different. The term "artist" distinguishes between those who are artists and those who are not. To me, an artist is a person who works without sham. One who works with integrity. The three most basic tools are a sense of self, honesty, and imagin ation. These are also three of the greatest enemies of this society. With good reason all three of these qualities are suppressed in most people at a very early age and replaced with subservience, confusion, and conformity. The expressing of oneself creatively demands not only a sense of self, honesty and imagination; but time...the time to listen, the time to concentrate. To have time, is one of the most important instances of privilege (and therefore oppression) in this society. If everyone had access to the same opportunities as everyone else—would there be such a creature as “artist?” Art would not have to speak for everyone if everyone could speak for themselves. Because of the privilege accorded to and/or fought for by artists in this society, the presumptuous assumption that some of us whether by genius, skill, or inspiration are better able to express "our” circumstance—I refuse to call myself or others “artists. Accepting money for work and associating with art institutions only contributes to the class system of art and artists. There are poets, performers, cooks and the like among us. These words refer to what we do. But "artist" refers to who we are in a context that inescapably implies a difference that furthers oppression rather than challenging it.</p> <p>The most important point to me, as it refers to this issue, is that just as the words “lesbian" and "artist" exist within a context and are affected by a circumstance, so does this issue.</p> <byline><persName key="Marty Pottenger" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q19663455" type="real">Marty Pottenger</persName> </byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> I want people to understand that to be a lesbian feminist is to be undefined, complex, groping, newly born, uncategorizable and uncategorized—i.e. not a “Lesbian as she has been culturally defined. I work and live for the day when the damnable categories of human behavior are gone. And towards this end, I am a part of Heresies and the lesbian issue. I don’t for a moment believe that we are presenting (or that we even looked for) any answers or final solutions in this issue. There were frightening moments when I felt that we had to say it all right now or never. As far as l’m concerned that's a reasonable and not too paranoid reaction to a culture which "gives us" NO place NO voice NO credibility NO trust. We just have to keep stretching, shoving, insisting, confronting, and pursuing whatever goals we each find most politically important and personally fulfilling. I find all the challenge I need in keeping my faith in the strength of the combined efforts of feminists and in taking seriously my individual acts of survival and growth in this death culture.</p> <p>I am committed to photography and the written word, to outrageous and humorous art, to women, to the chaos of reconstruction, and to publishing as a way to become visible, to be heard and felt by no matter how small or select an audience.</p> <byline><persName key="Su Friedrich" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4492765">Su Friedrich</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> l’ve been painting for twelve years—as a feminist I feel l’ve been making “my own" art for six of those years—and have identified myself as a lesbian for four years. We continue, the work and 1, the commitment growing stronger, the relationship deeper. As 1 am less anxious that the work will leave me, or that others won’t approve, I step out of my protective world and find myself increasingly concerned with feminist political issues. I know how my work functions for me, but how does it fit into a larger social political view of feminism?</p> <p>I have to admit that, 1 came to this issue with a lot of expectations. From the beginning, I conceived of a whole issue devoted to lesbian art as political. I had hoped it would give lesbian artists visibility (especially lesbian visual artists who have virtually been ignored), create dialogue and community between lesbian visual artists and writers, remove the separation between lesbian art and politics, and bring an art consciousness to the lesbian community and a lesbian consciousness to the feminist art community. Since lesbian artists are so often isolated, I had hoped that in this special collective context we would take risks, ask questions, explore ideas, and theorize. Like a painter exhibiting for the first time, I wanted to show it all.</p> <p>Now that we have worked for almost a year on this issue, 1 have very mixed feelings. I think the work presented in this issue is excellent. The problem is not the art itself, for much strong work has been and is being made by lesbians. The problem is what’s missing, and what is missing is a context for the work. 1 am disappointed that this issue has avoided controversial material and has continued the artistic fear of conscious political discussion. We have avoided a larger social political context for our work, as though it would somehow interfere with the work or take away from its power and meaning. To think politically doesn’t mean we can’t see creatively.</p> <p>If artmaking is an integral part of feminist revolution as l believe it is, we should be asking the following questions:</p> <list> <item>What is the role and function of lesbian feminist art in the lesbian movement?</item> <item>What is its role and function in the feminist movement?</item> <item>How does lesbian feminist art relate to larger social struggles for change in a society where lesbians and others will no longer be discriminated against?</item> <item>How does lesbian feminist art affect and transform culture?</item> </list> <p>The discussion of these questions is far more important than the answers. I believe that to be a lesbian artist is in itself political, but I also think in these days of homophobic backlash, that we need to push further and analyze all patriarchal institutions which control our lives. I feel that we have not allowed ourselves (because we’re artists?) to deal with important issues of lesbian separatism, socialist lesbians, lesbian sensibility, the relationship of lesbianism to feminism, and the issues of race and class. These subjects are not rhetorical, cliched, or irreleant to artmaking. To me they are very real and important in determining the quality of lesbian art.</p> <byline><persName key="Harmony Hammond" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5659529" type="real">Harmony Hammond</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> My impetus to work on this issue was rooted in the desperation and frustration I was experiencing working as a lesbian painter within a very circumscribed.peer group. 1 had begun to do what most lesbians have always done in creating a private world of reinforcement. I no longer believe these pockets of isolated support groups can bear the strain of what it means to be a lesbian in a culture predicated on misogyny and homophobia. This issue was an attempt to seek out lesbian artists and publicize the fact of their existence to myself, other les¬ bians and other women. The dangers and ramifications of exposing myself and others in a solitary lesbian issue of a magazine whose audience and founders are predominately straight are inherent and menacing. But no matter what the extent of this issue’s token quality I believe that the content: pursue with integrity essential questions and possibilities facing all women.</p> <byline><persName>K. Webster</persName></byline> </div> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2025-08/heresies03_004_1.jpg" n="4"/> <div type="statement"> <p> I believe we are lesbians largely because we realize on some level that the demands of heterosexual roles are rooted in a tradition of violence to women’s bodies and minds. This tradition is consciously and unconsciously ritualized; it is large and powerful, life determining in fact. Feminism can and must help alter the tradition but cannot ultimately transcend it. Some of us have tried to transcend it, could not, don’t believe anybody can at this time, and reject it. Equality is a myth that liberal feminism and theories of androgyny nourish. Self hatred, doubt, and homophobia on some level are operative in all our lives. In spite of this, and in defiance of this, I believe lesbianism is fundamentally about self-preservation and self-love in a culture that would have it otherwise. The choice to make art is directly aided and energized by such positive impulses.</p> <p>The connections between artist’s lives and their artistic creations have historically been acknowledged, probed and even embellished upon. However, the very existence of lesbiar lives has inveterately been denied. The connections between our lives and our work must be constructed and recognized, by ourselves, and eventually by others. It is essential that these connections and their powerful political ramifications be given credence, and a loud, loud voice. Despite my terror at signing my name to this magazine, my convictions are strengthened over and over: the presence of lesbians and lesbian artists must be affirmed. The third issue of Heresies is an attempt in this direction. My personal dedication is to all lesbian artists who understandably remain silent, in hopes that they won’t always have to.</p> <byline><persName type="real">Rose Fichtenholtz</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> This issue of Heresies has had a particularly difficult built-in problem. Heresies’ usual policy is not to print monographs of contemporary artists, but the invisibility of lesbian artists and the need for dialogue of every kind among lesbians moved us to consider altering the monograph policy in various ways. Essentially, because we decided to publish only lesbian-made material, the issue itself is monographical: Ourselves, our thought, our work.</p> <p>We used a discussion and voting process to determine what to publish. The question of inclusivity/exclusivity has been a source of trouble for us as a collective; it was a problem that we never resolved methodically. One direction that I felt the urge to follow was to print as much as we could, since this issue could be seen as a vehicle by which to strengthen a "women’s culture." As it has been defined by some women, a women’s culture is based in part on the principle of representation of as many of our voices as possible with the idea that the many voices make a beautiful choir.</p> <p>However, in the end I was committed to print only that material which I felt was most powerful. This outlook can be and has been seen as an alternative to the “many voices’ method of creating a women’s culture. I agree that what 1 deem “powerful" is colored by personal biases, some of which must be examined closely for their validity. But to try to reflect what was “out there” seemed foolish. I felt that it was more honest to print what I believe in; that is, not just what I agree with ideologically but what agrees with me esthetically Unfortunately the usual editorial message is that to deny space to something is to imply its worthlessness, and that, conversely, to print something is to assert its worth.</p> <p>As an editor I have reflected only my own biases and opinions. I have done so only with the hope that other lesbians will investigate our lives true to their own opinions and values—and that we will analyze our differences with an eye towards our diverse pasts and our collective future.</p> <byline><persName key="Amy Sillman" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q481952">Amy Sillman</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> l’ve been a lesbian and l’ve been a painter for a long time. have little respect for rhetoric, politics that squeeze the life’s blood out of artists, or theories of lesbian sensibility or lesbian imagery formulated out of daydreams.</p> <p>I don’t like being isolated in this magazine because my lesbian artist sisters out there refuse to come out. Backlash is on its way, but we don’t even need backlash—we have the sanctity of the closet.</p> <p>l’d like to personally dedicate this issue to all the women who we know are lesbians and who have made it big in the last forty years—as artists, as dealers, and as intellectuals—for their steadfastness in the denial of their queerness. The starkness of their lives led me to cherish honest living and to search for an alternate route for making art.</p> <p>I want to share what 1 have learned in my twenty years of being a painter and a lesbian with lesbians who want a strong identity as artists. I am interested in work. I am first a painter. I am not interested in formulating politics or in promoting a lesbian universe. I am in this despite my doubts about the productivity of collective enterprise and despite the distance it takes me from my work.</p> <byline><persName key="Louise Fishman" ref="http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6688739" type="real">Louise Fishman</persName></byline> </div> <div type="statement"> <p> When I am making a work of art I am making it first and foremost therapeutically for myself, and I am alone in my studio and feeling usually very lonely. At this time there is only a vague sense that it is also for other women artists and women who like to look at art. And even when 1 have finished working on it and it is an expression of my own formulated and particular visual bias, it is still not yet complete. Women come to my studio and look at it and see things that I was too close to see and the painting’s meaning becomes larger. Anc still it is not yet finished. It seasons awhile in front of its small audiences and insistently sits before them and I bring people in front of it and say, “Yes, this is my art; this is my experience, until in some way it is recognized, analyzed and absorbed. Then it is finished. It is finished when it goes public, is recognized, given meaning.</p> <p>Women have managed somehow to survive in a woman- hating culture, but rarely have they found ways to complete expression in the culture. We know better than most that the personal is political because when we have insisted upon our personal viewpoint, when we have insisted upon our art, we have been burned, mutilated, raped and put away—at best ridiculed. Exposure, even sometimes to each other, is dangerous; fraught with memories of past violence, visions of future violence, the feeling that we will be considered crazy if we let others know who we are and what we think. We have no his torical or political context to decide which parts of us remain intact after suffering consistent negation and brutality.</p> <p>Who we choose as an audience is of vital consideration as long as exposure is dangerous. I sign my name to this issue with a great sense of purpose as well as real trepidation. Everyday l am aware that people think I am crazy because I am a lesbian and that violence may be done to me because of it. This will continue long after male institutions grant us our civil rights. It will continue until we make the reality of our experience clear. Women have often had strength in the private domain, are safer there. When we have brought our experience, our work, our ideas to the world we have been repudiated and endangered. It is time to be particular and rigorous in our language and ideas, to articulate our needs and biases, and to insist, “Yes, this is our art; yes, this is our experience,” in a voice that can not be refuted.</p> <byline><persName>Christine Wade</persName></byline> </div> </body> </text> </TEI>
