During her recent tenure, Editor Xenia Zed had dreamed of an ãall femaleä issue, written exclusively by women, that would subtly appear without much fanfare. Though the issue was never realized, new Editor Glenn Harper decided to produce an issue on feminism but without limiting the content to female writers. The result was spirited and politically-oriented, a trend which would continue throughout Harperâs editorship, containing an interview with Barbara Kruger and an infamous Public Service Announcement by the Guerrilla Girls. Essays in volume 11 were loosely linked around themes-including the second Artistâs Pages issue (see photo), subtitled, ãWhat Next?,ä an issue with a focus on ãArt and Nature,ä which contained the magazineâs first contribution from current Chicago Contributing Editor Maureen Sherlock, and an issue which purported to survey ãthe non-profit beastä-while containing the short-lived ãQVä section of non-related feature material, the most notable being an interview with theorist Fredric Jameson. This year also saw the final collaborative issue with the Architectural Society of Atlanta, and the arrival of Mildred Thompson as a writer and interviewer.

Although it was the theme of an issue which focused on art, taxes, politics and criticism, the magazine itself placed inside a ãcoverä printed on a large manila envelope, ãPlaying Hardball with the Big Boysä also symbolized the publicationâs growth during volume 12 via hard-stock covers and increased production values throughout-this in addition to ART PAPERSâ credible reputation as a growing national publication. That year brought some inventive theme issues, including the third Artistâs Pages Issue (see photo), subtitled ãCampaign Promisesä in honor of the presidential election of that year, and issues on performance and art and funding. Glenn Harperâs editorship was now firmly in place, and a clear sense of consistent political involvement was emerging while the publication continued with some of the themes it had established earlier-such as Southern folk art, seen in a lengthy obituary for Minnie Evans, and African-American artists, which manifested as an entire issue on ãContemporary Black Artists.ä Other articles of interest included interviews with Keith Haring and Group Material. Also of note was a special issue sponsored by the Southern Arts Federation, which contained an insert on the National Endowment for the Artsâ Documentary Photography Fellowships along with several essays on photography in the regular part of the magazine.

Volume 13 kicked off with John Johnstonâs interview with Jean Baudrillard in an issue which also contained Fluxus artist Dick Higginsâ essay, ãFive Myths of Postmodernism.ä Other issues that year focused on film and video, sculpture, a special look at regionalism in addition to the annual artistâs pages issue. Controversial photographer Sally Mann was among those interviewed, as well as artists ranging from Native American sculptor Bob Haozous to conceptual artist Richard C., and artist Pat Courtney designed the cover of the March/April issue (see photo). Interviews with sculptors and installation artists such as Donald Lipski, Shirazeh Houshiary, and Athena Tacha, as well as a conversation with folk artist James ãSonä Thomas and essays on the mobile home in America and Harris Dimitropoulosâ monument in Paris for the bicentenary of the French revolution rounded out the year.

Guest Edited by frequent contributor Alan Sondheim, the ãNoise Cultureä issue delved into the world of zines and club culture, even containing a special zine insert. The issue also contained an interview with Atlantaâs own Ru Paul, who was then on the cusp of celebrity status. Of particular note was an article on art in Berlin at the time the Berlin Wall came down. Other issues in volume 14 included a second collaboration with Nexus Press on artistâs books, with a cover designed by Ruth Laxson, and an issue on black artists containing articles by theorist Bell Hooks and artist Adrian Piper. The magazineâs first issue on art and education also appeared, a theme that would continue to be revisited in later years. Ending the volume was an issue on art criticism (see photo) with articles by Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe and Eleanor Heartney.

After a decade and a half of publishing, Art Papers under Glenn Harperâs editorship had arrived as a national art journal of prominence, routinely featuring well known artists alongside emerging ones and a similar range of writers. Volume 15 contained some of the magazineâs most interesting contents, including interviews with artists Keith Sonnier, Philip Glass, Chris Burden, Christian Boltanski and Ann Hamilton, curators Collins and Milazzo, and folk artist George Andrews. Articles included censorship and public art, a timely topic in relation to the NEA culture wars, and special issues on Mail Art and the Alternative Arts Press. The latter issue, in particular, proved that the publication was among a handful of enduring non-profit journals of note along with Art Issues and New Art Examiner. Other publications featured in that issue, such as the Minnesota-based Art Paper, contributed daunting accounts of why they went out of business-almost as a warning to the remaining members, and readers of, the alternative arts press. The year concluded with a special 15th Anniversary issue (see photo). Funded by the Warhol Foundation, the issue featured contributions from former editors and writers, as well as reprints of some of the most provocative and still relevant articles from the magazineâs past.

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