Artist Background
Education:
Age: 65 (b. September 20, 1948 in Bronx, NY) (Bowles, 2011)
Ethnicity: Both Caucasian and African American, female (Bowles, 2011)
Themes: Identity, race / racism, gender / sexism
Artist Statement:
“My work challenges the white viewer to transcend that deeply entrenched, carefully concealed sense of privilege, specialness, and personal superiority that comes from identifying oneself with society’s most privileged group. If we are ever going to move toward a resolution of the problem of racism, not only in this country but internationally, we’ve got to overcome the divisive illusion of otherness, the illusion that each of us is defined not just by our individual uniqueness but by our racial uniqueness." (Berger, 1998, p. 217)
Interesting facts:
Artmaking:
Piper primarily utilizes performances in which she distributes material such as a card, or dresses up as a character, involving unsuspecting members of the public as components of her work. She employs videos and gallery installations which surround the viewer with an uncomfortable or provocative message or situation. Her works on paper include highly-charged scenes drawn over newspaper headlines and self-portraits exaggerating racial stereotypes (Piper, 1996).
Materials: Performances, installations, videos, sound recordings, photos (with added text), drawings
Inspirations and goals:
The goal of Piper’s artwork is to challenge viewers’ assumptions about their own and others’ identities. She wants to help people become less racist by unearthing their hidden prejudices. Her inspirations include German philosophers Georg Hegel and Immanuel Kant, and artists Sol Lewitt, Lucy Lippard, Mel Bochner, and Joseph Kosuth (Piper, 2013).
Additional information can be found on the artist's website: http://adrianpiper.com/
Education:
- Studied Philosophy at City College of NY (BA in Philosophy, minor in Medieval and Renaissance Musicology), Harvard (Ph.D in Philosophy), and University of Heidelberg (Bowles, 2011)
- Taught philosophy at Michigan, Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford, UCSD, and Wellesley College (Bowles, 2011)
Age: 65 (b. September 20, 1948 in Bronx, NY) (Bowles, 2011)
Ethnicity: Both Caucasian and African American, female (Bowles, 2011)
Themes: Identity, race / racism, gender / sexism
Artist Statement:
“My work challenges the white viewer to transcend that deeply entrenched, carefully concealed sense of privilege, specialness, and personal superiority that comes from identifying oneself with society’s most privileged group. If we are ever going to move toward a resolution of the problem of racism, not only in this country but internationally, we’ve got to overcome the divisive illusion of otherness, the illusion that each of us is defined not just by our individual uniqueness but by our racial uniqueness." (Berger, 1998, p. 217)
Interesting facts:
- Total education took 27 years to complete
- Figure of Conceptual Art movement of 1960s and 70s
- Practices yoga
- Is an analytical philosopher (Shohat, 1998)
Artmaking:
Piper primarily utilizes performances in which she distributes material such as a card, or dresses up as a character, involving unsuspecting members of the public as components of her work. She employs videos and gallery installations which surround the viewer with an uncomfortable or provocative message or situation. Her works on paper include highly-charged scenes drawn over newspaper headlines and self-portraits exaggerating racial stereotypes (Piper, 1996).
Materials: Performances, installations, videos, sound recordings, photos (with added text), drawings
Inspirations and goals:
The goal of Piper’s artwork is to challenge viewers’ assumptions about their own and others’ identities. She wants to help people become less racist by unearthing their hidden prejudices. Her inspirations include German philosophers Georg Hegel and Immanuel Kant, and artists Sol Lewitt, Lucy Lippard, Mel Bochner, and Joseph Kosuth (Piper, 2013).
Additional information can be found on the artist's website: http://adrianpiper.com/
