Mary Beth Edelson: Come Dressed As Your Favorite Artist & Healing Ritual for Carolee Schneemann, December 17, 1987, 110 Mercer Street

This image documents a dinner and costume party honoring Louise Bourgeois hosted by Mary Beth Edelson and Ana Mendieta at Mary Beth’s loft in Soho on the 14th of March 1979. Mendieta was introduced to many women artists at this gathering. Guests included: Louise Bourgeois, Ana Mendieta, Mary Beth Edelson, Michelle Stuart, Joyce Kozloff, Hannah Wilke, Judith Bernstein, Anne Sharp, Susan Copper, Edit D'Ak, Barbara Moore, Patricia Hamilton, Phyllis Krim, Barbara Zucker, Poppy Johnson, Marcia Resnick, and Gloria MacDonald.

After Mendieta’s untimely death in 1985, Edelson made a silkscreen homage to her friend.

Indicative of Edelson’s close connection with other feminist artists and her performative practices, she created a performance ritual for Carolee Schneemann in her 110 Mercer Street loft on December 17, 1987. “Healing Ritual for Carolee Schneemann (or Summer Wounds Healed in Winter)” engaged five others that included Gloria Orenstein, Clive Philpot, Elinor Gadon, Hank Gile, and Maura Sheehan. The photograph documents the ritual for which Edelson made an artist’s book that outlines the healing process for her friend, five pages of which are documented below.