Eleanor Antin
[Artist, b. 1935, New York, lives in San Diego, California.]

 I adore [photography’s] uneasy mix of fact and fiction—its dubious claim to truth—its status as history. 
 Science, Government, Education, Art, the cultural monolith may be said to exist primarily to exercise a paternal influence, decorously if possible, aggressively if necessary, to enforce certain accepted images upon individuals. 
 [There was] an openness not found on the East Coast and a generosity of spirit. New York was always formulating the correct ways to work and think while back here [in California] we were always eager to be surprised and engaged in new ways. 
 Why should I be limited by my own biography?