POPE.L

b. 1955, Newark, New Jersey; d. 2023, Chicago, Illinois

BiographyArtist changed his name to only Pope.LWILLIAM POPE.LBorn: 1955, Newark, New JerseyEDUCATION1983-1985 Mabou Mines Re.Cher.Chez. Theater Intensive, New York, NY1979-1981 Mason Gross School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, M.F.A.1977-1978 Whitney Museum Independent Studio Program, New York, NY1975-1978 Montclair State College, Montclair, NJ, B.A.1973-1975 Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NYSELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS2010 landscapes + objects + animals, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, NYcolor isn’t matter, Samson Projects, Boston, MA2009 Allan Kaprow Yard, Hauser & Wirth, NYCorbu Pops, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts Harvard University2008 October Projects, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, NYAnimal Nationalism, Grand Arts, Kansas City, MOBiting Through Innocence, Gallerie Catherine Bastide, Brussels, BelgiumDrawing, Dreaming, Drowning, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL2007 Art After White People: Time, Trees, & Celluloid… Santa Monica Museum of Art, CAWilliam Pope.L: snow, spraypaint, hair, sperm & baloney, Kenny Schachter ROVE, London, UKWilliam Pope.L: The Black Factory and Other Good Works, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SanFrancisco, CAThe Void Show, MC Kunst, Los Angeles, CA2006 Trophy Room, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, AustriaUnder All, Above Most, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH2005 some things you can do with blackness…. Kenny Schachter ROVE, London, UKProps & Propositions, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH2004 Five Ways to Say the Same Sadness, University Art Museum, University at Albany, NYeRacism: electronica, Contemporary Art Museum St Louis, St. Louis, MOreFunkt, The Project, New York, NYeRacism, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJeRacism, Artists Space, New York, NY2003 Foddah, Drew University, Madison, NJSome: Of Place and Desire, ArtHouse, Austin, TXeRacism, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OReRacism, DiverseWorks, Houston, TX2002 What’s Inside A Boy, The Project, Los Angeles, CAeRacism, ICA at Maine College of Art, Portland, MEIncontinent, Wood Street Gallery, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA2001 Hole Theory, The Project, New York, NY2000 Eracism: White Room, ThreadWaxing Space, New York, NYThe Hole Inside The Space Inside Yves Klein’s Asshole, Concordia Univ, Montreal, CanadaEating The Wall Street Journal And Other Current Consumptions, Mobius, Boston, MA1998 Recent Work, The Project, New York, NYSELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS2010 Self as Disappearance, Synagogue de Delme, Delme, France2009 100 Years, P.S.1, Long Island City, NYDeCordova Annual Exhibition, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MAAllan Kaprow Yard, Hauser & Wirth, New York, NYVisions of the Frontier, curated by Robert Wilson, Ivam Centre Julio Gonález, ValenciaBroken Thorn Sweet Blackberry, Sikkema Jenkins, NY2008 30 Americans, The Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FLPaul Thek: In the Contexts of Today’s Contemporary Art (PART TWO), Sammlung Falkenburg,Hamburg, GermanyBlack Is, Black Ain’t, The Renaissance Society at University of Chicago, Chicago, ILCriminal: Art and Criminal Justice in America, The International Center for the Arts at SanFrancisco State University, San Francisco, CAInformal Architectures (Pt.2). Winnepeg, CARetail Value, Dorsky Gallery, Long Island City, NY2007 Port City: On Mobility and Exchange, Arnolfini, Bristol, UKInformal Architectures, The Banff Centre, Banff, AB, CanadaGet Lost, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NYConceptual Paper, Arndt & Partner, Zurich, SwitzerlandPlug, Sister Gallery, Los Angeles, CASilicone Valley, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY2006 South Bronx Contemporary: Longwood 25th Anniversary, Longwood Art Gallery, Bronx, NYA Noir, E Blanc, I Rouge.... Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen, Magdeburg,GermanyShed Piece. Frieze Art Fair, London, England7e Biennale de l’Art Africaine Contemporaire, Dakar, SenegalCivil Restitutions, Thomas Dane Gallery, London, EnglandNewark Between Us, 744 Gallery/Newark Arts Council, Newark, NJStories, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NMSituation Comedy, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada; Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, ILSkowhegan at 60, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, MEHumor Me, H & R Block Artspace, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MORelics and Remnants, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, New York, NYDreaming of a More Better Future, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH2005 Hero, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NMLandmark, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, ORRAPSIDA, Gallery 138, New York, NYDouble Consciousness, Museum of Contemporary Arts Houston, Houston, TXSituation Comedy, Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HIDecarie, Saidye Bronfman Center for the Arts, Montreal, CanadaDefense, Sweeney Art Gallery, University of California, Riverside, CA2004 The Interventionists: Art in the Social Sphere, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MAWatch What We Say, Schroeder Romero, Brooklyn, NYThe Big Nothing, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PABrown v. Board of Education 1954-2004, Gallery 138, New York, NYMoving Collection: Body-Con, Fukui Prefectural Museum of Art, JapanReverse Engineers, Herndon Gallery, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OHOnly Skin Deep, International Center for Photography, New York, NY2003 Moving Collection: Body-Con, Wanakio Festival, Naha, Okinawa, JapanMotion Studies, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, NYWhite, Bill Maynes Gallery, New York, NYAmeri©an Dre@m, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Gallery, New York, NY2002 Art & Outrage, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, NYWhitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NYReactions, Exit Art Gallery, New York, NYMoving Collection: Body-Con, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand2001 Video Jam, Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, Palm Bach, FL2000 Pix, Lance Fung Gallery, New York, NY1999 Out of Actions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan; Museu d’Art Contemporani,Barcelona, Spain1998 warming, The Project, New York, NYOut of Actions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; MAK, Vienna, AustriaSELECTED PERFORMANCES2007 In the Cabin, House of World Cultures (Haus der Kulturen der Welt), Berlin, GermanyHoliday / Dovolená, Prague Quadrennial, Prague, Czech Republic2006 Condoleezza Rice Day, Galleria Civica, Trento, ItalyIn the Cabin! Mobius at Midway Theater, Boston, MAThe Black Factory, various venues, USAPoor Piece, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NMSinging the House, MIT, Boston, MASanta Fe Group Crawl, Santa Fe, NM2005 White Room #4: Wittgenstein and My Brother Frank, Kenny Schachter ROVE, London, UKBringing the Decarie to the Mountain (group crawl), Montreal, CanadaThe Black Factory, various venues, USAThe Yeti and the Case for Contemporary Photography, Cologne Art Fair, Cologne, GermanyAngel-Vision, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Quays, UK2004 White Room #2: Moby Dick, Roosevelt Island lighthouse, New York, NYWhite Room #3: Music Appreciation, PS-1, Queens, NYNegarkuisse Part 2, House of World Cultures, Berlin, GermanyNegarkuisse Part 1, House of World Cultures, Berlin, GermanyThe Black Factory, various venues, USA2003 Anglo-Vision, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RICoon, Cinema Texas, University of Texas at Austin and Arthouse, Austin, TXCandy Mountain, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ORFreedman’s Town to Enron City (Houston group crawl), DiverseWorks, Houston, TX2002 The Great White Way: 22 Miles, 9 Years, 1 Street, New York, NYEracism, Portland Stage Company, Portland, MEPortland, Maine Crawl, Portland, ME2001 I Love Japan, Tokyo, JapanShopping Crawl, Shibuya, Tokyo, JapanBringing the Homeless Back to Shinjuku, Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan2000 Eracism, ThreadWaxing Space, New York, NYEating the Wall Street Journal, The Sculpture Center, New York, NYSelling My Grandmother, Yard Sale, New York City Lab School, New York, NYBoston Commons Crawl, Boston School of Fine Art, Boston, MA1999 The Black Body and Sport, Berlin, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary;Madrid, SpainThe White Mountain (Wonder Bread), Postmasters Gallery, New York, NYMy Niagra #3 (Paint), Los Angeles, CARaymond (version 2), Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL1998 My Niagra #2 (Bed), The Project, New York, NYMy Niagra #1 (Paint), Fells Point, Baltimore, MDA Negro Sleeps Beneath the Susquehanna, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PAEracism (version 8), 7alld Festival, Toronto, Canada1997 ATM Piece, 42nd Street, New York, NYSweet Desire, Maine Arts Festival, Brunswick, MEEracism, Mobius, Boston, MA1996 Sweet Desire, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, MEMember, Harlem, New York, NYSELECTED AWARDS2007 Tiffany Foundation AwardNancy Graves Foundation Award2006 United States Artists Rockefeller FellowshipLEF FoundationBellagio2004 Guggenheim Fellowship2003 Rockefeller Foundation2002 Foundation for Contemporary Performance Art2001 Japan – U.S. Friendship Commission FellowshipThe Andy Warhol FoundationCreative Capital Foundation2000 Franklin Furnace/Jerome FoundationTanne Foundation Fellowship1999 Maine Arts Commission Fellowship Grant1995 National Endowment for the Arts1994 National Endowment for the ArtsNew England Regional Initiative ProjectMaine Arts Commission Fellowship Grant1993 National Endowment for the ArtsArt MattersSELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHYMerjian, Ara H., William Pope.L, Artforum, 2009Pollock, Barbara, William Pope.L, Time Out New York, October 16, 2008Levin, Kim, William Pope.L, ARTnews, December 2008Valdez, Sarah, William Pope.L, Art on Paper, November/December 2008Rosenberg, Karen, William Pope.L, The New York Times, October 17, 2008Lepecki, Andre, Exhausting Dance: Performance and the Politics of Movement, Routledge, 2006Storey, Natalie, On Your Knees! Sunday, The New Mexican Magazine, Santa Fe, NM, March 12-18, 2006Van Cleve, Emily, Performer Makes an Art of Humiliation, The Journal Santa Fe, March 3, 2006Sayer, Laura, Undies to See the Light, The New Record, Cincinnati, OH, January 5-8, 2006Chase, Alisia, Learning to be Human, Afterimage, January-February, 2006Agans, Elizabeth, Think Again, Rutgers Magazine, Winter, 2006Firstenberg, Lauri, Profile: Tapping the energy of Predicament, Contemporary Magazine, New York, NY, 2005McKanic, Arlene, JCAL’s Relics and Remnants, The New York Amsterdam News, November 3-9, 2005Pope.L, William, Letter to a Young Artist, Art on Paper, July/August, 2005Dischinger, Mark. The United Colors of America. RFT: Riverfront Times, St Louis, MO, June 15-21, 2005Thorson, Alice, Highlighting ‘Blackness’, Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO, June 12, 2005Sedgewick, Augustine, Perspective: William Pope.L, The Possibilities of Difference, Sun Journal, June 12, 2005Delgado, Jerome, Amener l'Autoroute a la Montagne, La Presse, Montreal, Canada, June 2, 2005Harthill, Daniel, Shazam! Sun Journal, Lewiston, ME, May 30, 2005Lamarche, Bernard, Toucher Son But, Le Devoir, Montreal, Canada, May 15, 2005Pope.L, William, The “Looking for Miss Black Factory” Contest, Art Journal, Spring, 2005Thompson, Chris, Afterbirth of a Nation, Women and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, 2004Trainor, James, Walking the Walk: The Artist as Flâneur, Border Crossings, November 2003Tousignant, Isa, Crawl for Your Life. The Hour, Montreal, Canada, November 4, 2004Cotter, Holland, Hometown of Utopia and Dissent. The New York Times, New York, NY, July 23, 2004Trainor, James, Ain’t No Such Thing As Superman. Frieze, London, England, May 2004Daily, Meghan, William Pope.L. ArtForum, April 2004Osei-Bonsu, Aufa, The Art of Contraries: William Pope.L. Afrique, Chicago, IL, April 2004Smith, Roberta, William Pope.L. The New York Times, January 30, 2004Calo, Carole Gold, Public Art/Private Art. Public Art Review Crossroads, Fall-Winter 2003Owens, Clifford, Notes on Critical Black U.S. Performance Art. Fylkingen Net Journal, October 23, 2003D.K. Row, Covered In Chocolate, An Artist Dances 'For Democracy'. The Oregonian, June 12, 2003Pope.L, William, Sandwich Lecture 8. LIVE Culture, Tate Gallery, London, UK, Spring 2003Stillman, Nick, Artseen. The Brooklyn Rail, June 2003Stillman, Nick, The Value of Not Knowing. New York Fine Arts Quarterly (NYFA), Vol. 19, No 2, Spring 2003Pollack, Barbara, The Art of Public Disturbance. Art in America, May, 2003Bessire, Mark H. C., ed. William Pope.L: The Friendliest Black Artist in America. MIT Press, 2002Pope.L, William, Voices from the Field. The Visual Art Critic, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2002Cohen, Ted, Crawling to Learn. Maine Telegram Sunday, Portland, ME, October 6, 2002Cotter, Holland, Tombs, Pop Tarts, and Parties. The New York Times, August 23, 2002Connors, Philip, The Man Who Ate the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2002Pollack, Barbara, Superman Enters the Culture Wars. Village Voice, New York, NY, January 15, 2002Cotter, Holland, Noted Performance Artist’s Work Slows to a Crawl. International Herald Tribune, January 2002Pogrebin, Robin, Warhol Foundation Finances Work Rebuffed by N.E.A. New York Times, December 21, 2001Associated Press, NEA Grant is Denied for Noted Maine Artist. Boston Globe, MA, December 20, 2001Cotter, Holland, William Pope.L, Art in Review, June 8, 2001Carr, C., Generation Gap: Three Performers and a Waterbed. Village Voice, New York, NY, July 18, 2000.Rush, Michael, Performance Hops Back Into the Scene. The New York Times, New York, NY, July 2, 2000Robinson, Dash, Consumer Demand: William Pope.L. Cambridge Tab, Needham, MA, January 14, 2000Crawford, Cair, My Niagra #2 (Bed). Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Issue 10, Summer, 1999Volk, Gregory, Rolo Castillo, William Pope.L, The Project. Flash Art, March-April, 1999Carr, C., Some Kind of Protest, Village Voice, New York, NY, March 4, 1997Weiss, Allen S., ed., Taste Nostalgia. Lusitania Press, New York, NY, 1997Wilson, Martha, William Pope.L. Bomb Magazine, New York, NY, Spring, 1996

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