Steven Durland, a longtime editor of *High Performance* magazine and a champion of performance art, died on March 11 at age 75 after a brief illness. His life partner, Linda Frye Burnham, confirmed his death in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. Durland was born in Long Beach, California, raised in South Dakota, and trained as a ceramic artist with a BFA from the University of South Dakota and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He became deeply involved in performance and mail art, and from 1986 to 1994 served as editor of *High Performance*, a magazine founded by Burnham that featured thousands of artists including Nancy Buchanan, Carolee Schneemann, Paul McCarthy, Suzanne Lacy, and Ulysses Jenkins. Durland also maintained his own artistic practice, creating performances such as "Win Defeat/BID FOR POWER" (1978) and "Death and Taxis" (1982), and produced the micro-newspaper *Tacit*.
Durland's work matters because he was a pivotal figure in documenting and advocating for performance art during a critical period of its development. As editor of *High Performance*, he provided a platform for experimental artists who were often marginalized by mainstream art institutions, helping to legitimize performance as a serious art form. His own practice, combining humor with social and art-world satire, exemplified the interdisciplinary spirit of the era. His legacy endures through the magazine's archives held at the Getty Research Institute and through the artists he supported, underscoring the importance of independent publishing and community-building in the art world.