In 1976, Paul McCarthy produced 1500 copies of Criss Cross Double Cross, a tabloid-size newsprint publication that regarded the printed page as a performance space. "It was crazy to do it," said McCarthy. Among the contributors to the one-off issue were Bruce Nauman, Nancy Buchanan, and Martha Rosler.

In this brief extract from a long discussion of a painting career spanning several decades, Pat Steir describes her first visit to Los Angeles and the four years she subsequently stayed there on and off, both painting and teaching at CalArts.