Duke University Press M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology of Artists' Writings, Theory, and Criticism

M/E/A/N/I/N/G brings together essays and commentary by over a hundred artists, critics, and poets, culled from the art magazine of the same name. The editors―artists Susan Bee and Mira Schor―have selected the liveliest and most provocative pieces from the maverick magazine that bucked commercial gallery interests and media hype during its ten-year tenure (1986–96) to explore visual pleasure with a culturally activist edge. With its emphasis on artists’ perspectives of aesthetic and social issues, this anthology provides a unique opportunity to enter into the fray of the most hotly contested art issues of the past few decades: the visibility of women artists, sexuality and the arts, censorship, art world racism, the legacies of modernism, artists as mothers, visual art in the digital age, and the rewards and toils of a lifelong career in art. The stellar cast of contributing artists and art writers includes Nancy Spero, Richard Tuttle, David Humphrey, Thomas McEvilley, Laura Cottingham, Johanna Drucker, David Reed, Carolee Schneemann, Whitney Chadwick, Robert Storr, Leon Golub, Charles Bernstein, and Alison Knowles. This compelling and theoretically savvy collection will be of interest to artists, art historians, critics, and a general audience interested in the views of practicing artists. Review " M/E/A/N/I/N/G reflects a time when artists were, in a sense, the critical theorists of the moment. Mira Schor and Susan Bee inspired many of them to write about the subjects that were closest to their hearts, minds, and art."-- Elizabeth Hess, art critic "The beauty of this book is the brilliant amassing by Susan Bee and Mira Schor of so many voices, ideas, and approaches. This anthology is full of gems, separately and in their juxtapositions. Fascinating, rich fare."-- Moira Roth, coauthor of Difference/Indifference: Musings on Postmodernism, Marcel Duchamp, and John Cage From the Back Cover "The beauty of this book is the brilliant amassing by Susan Bee and Mira Schor of so many voices, ideas, and approaches. This anthology is full of gems, separately and in their juxtapositions. Fascinating, rich fare."--Moira Roth, coauthor of "Difference/Indifference: Musings on Postmodernism, Marcel Duchamp, and John Cage" About the Author Susan Bee is an artist, editor, and designer who founded, coedited, and designed M/E/A/N/I/N/G magazine. She shows her paintings at A.I.R. Gallery in New York City and her artist’s books include Little Orphan Anagram and Log Rhythms. Mira Schor is on the faculty of the Fine Arts Department at Parsons School of Design. An award-winning painter and former coeditor and founder of M/E/A/N/I/N/G magazine, she is the author of Wet: On Painting, Feminism, and Art Culture, also published by Duke University Press.