phy into Sculpturein which his so-called ‘‘puzzle
pieces’’ (images adhered to blocks of wood that
could be refigured) were included. In 1969, his au-
dacious act of screening grisly Vietnam war photo-
graphs over the existing images in the pages of a
number ofTimemagazines, and placing them back
on the newsstand where they were sold has become
legendary and inspired a rich vein of investigation
into the commercial print medium. Exemplifying
this interest is one of Heinecken’s best-known ser-
ies, the folioAre You Rea(1966–1968). To create
these works, the artist used magazine pages as
‘‘negatives,’’ which produced prints that merge
images from both sides of the original pages.
These often disturbing images fused text and image
as well as image and image, indicating another of
Heinecken’s interests, the relationship of image and
text which culminated inThe S.S. Copyright Project
‘‘On Photography’’of 1978. Using a method that is
now very familiar to us through the paintings of
Chuck Close, this large-scale work features in one
panel the image of writer Susan Sontag created
through a montage of black-and-white snapshots of
the artist, his friends, his California studio, his car, his
everyday life, and what he has called ‘‘waste photos
found in the UCLA lab’’ almost carelessly stapled
onto a board. The other panel creates Sontag’s like-
ness through photographs of the text of her book,On
Photography, variously exposed to achieve a range of
dark and light. A text panel aggressively placed
between these two images begins ‘‘An intense com-
parison of these two pictures intends to throw light
on a few serious on-going dilemmas which have pla-
gued photography since its inception in 1833 and its
re-discovery in 1977.’’ a sarcastic reference to the
publication date of Sontag’s volume. Everything
photography is about and everything that it does to
the eye and mind is somewhere in this work.
In the 1990s, Heinecken turned to more personal
themes, including a cycle of photomontages using the
image of the Hindu god Shiva. He had discovered
later in life his maternal grandmother had been
Indian, and the attributes of this god of destruction
and creation allowed him to extend his investigations
into the nature of photographic imagery and its uses
in and impact on contemporary culture. He has exhib-
ited widely and internationally and is in the collections
of most major museums in the United States.
LynneWarrenSeealso:Artists’ Books; Coke, Van Deren; Concep-
tual Photography; Connor, Linda; Josephson, Ken-
neth; Liebling, Jerome; Newhall, Beaumont; Sontag,
Susan; Teske, Edmund; The Museum of Modern
Art; Welpott, Jack; White, MinorBiography
Born October 29, 1931, Denver, Colorado. Educated in
Denver, Los Angeles, and Riverside, California, public
schools. 1949–1951, Attends Riverside Junior College,
receiving A.A. degree with emphasis in art. 1951–1953,
Attends University of California, Los Angeles, drops
out. 1953, Enlists in U.S. Navy as Naval Aviation
Cadet, receives Pilot Wings in 1954, discharged Captain
in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1957; member of USMC
Active Reserve until 1966. Marries Janet M. Storey in
1955, three children. Re-enrolls in UCLA in 1957, receiv-
ing B.A. in 1959, serves as teaching assistant. Receives M.
A. in 1960, and is appointed Instructor, Department of
Art. 1962 initiates photography curriculum in fine-arts
context and appointed Assistant Professor. 1970s active
teaching workshops, including Ansel Adams Workshops
at Yosemite National Park; meets photographic model
Twinka Thiebaud and begins relationship. 1976, meets
photographer and future wife Joyce Neimanas in Chi-
cago; Culver City studio and contents destroyed in fire.
1977, National Endowment for the Arts Photographers
Fellowship. Separates from family, divorced 1980. 1980,
Receives Guggenheim Fellowship. 1980s begins teaching
at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 1991,
Retires from UCLA; appointed Professor Emeritus in
the Department of Art, relocates to Chicago 1996.
1997, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Kiyo-
sato, Japan acquires The Robert Heinecken Collection
of approximately 900 contemporary photographs and
related items collected by Heinecken from friends and
colleagues. 1999, Completes extended interviews for
UCLA Oral History Program. Archives transferred to
the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona.Selected Works
Refractive Hexagon, 1965
Are You Reaportfolio, 1966–1968
Cream 6, 1970
Different Strokes, 1970/97
Lingerie for a Feminist Suntan #3, 1973
Cliche ́Vary,Lesbianism, 1974
Cliche ́Vary: Autoeroticism, 1974
Cliche ́Vary: Fetishism, 1974
He:/She:, 1974–1978
Space/Time Metamorphosis #1, 1975
Space/Time Metamorphosis #2, 1976
The S.S. Copyright Project‘‘On Photography,’’ 1978
Case Study in Finding an Appropriate TV Newswoman (A
CBS Docudrama in Words and Pictures), 1984
‘‘Shiva, King of Dancers’’ Manifesting as a Transvestite, 1992Individual Exhibitions
1960 Art Galleries at the University of California, Los
Angeles, California
1965 Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CaliforniaHEINECKEN, ROBERT