Self-examination - performance artist Matuschka shows results of mastectomy in Self magazine - Brief Article

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct 1, 1993

"It's time to take the secrecy away from breast cancer and mastectomies," says Self editor in chief Alexandra Penney. To that end, this month's issue devotes 20 pages to the latest developments on the disease, including a daring photograph of performance artist Matuschka baring the results of her surgery.

"Women are so terrified of disfigurement. I want people to ... become comfortable with the visual image," explains Penney, who was buoyed by The New York Times Magazine's use of a similar shot of the artist on its August 15 cover. "My first reaction was, 'We've been scooped.' My second was, 'Thank God. We need to jolt people.' " Yet Penney asserts she is "not interested in the shock value of the image. " In fact, the photograph suggests that relationships can still flourish after mastectomy. "The picture is evocative of love and sensuality," she says.