Pope.L

Black Domestic a.k.a. Cow Commercial

1994

Video (color, sound; 2:49 min.); cotton button down shirt; plastic cow figurine and brown leather belt

Not on view

In Black Domestic a.k.a. Cow Commercial, Pope.L roams the streets, tunnels, and buildings of midtown Manhattan dressed in a pastel suit and carrying a black-and-white plastic cow. Performing as a sidewalk oracle, he makes religious and philosophical declarations that border on the absurd. At one point, he installs a miniature American flag in the anus of the cow—the animal is conspicuously marked as “SOLD”—then sticks an empty wine bottle labeled “RACE” into its mouth. Partly a spoof on the popular 1990s advertising campaign “Got Milk?,” Black Domestic parodies racial stereotypes that turn identities into consumable commodities.

Gallery label from

October 21, 2019–February 1, 2020

Medium Video (color, sound; 2:49 min.); cotton button down shirt; plastic cow figurine and brown leather belt
Credit Acquired through the generosity of The Jill and Peter Kraus Media and Performance Acquisition Fund, Jill and Peter Kraus, Anne and Joel S. Ehrenkranz, The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, and Jill and Peter Kraus in honor of Michael Lynne
Object number 81.2019.1-4
Department Media and Performance

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Pope.L

Pope.L

American, 1955–2023 33 works online

For five days, Pope.L sat on a toilet situated atop a tall makeshift tower, reading and eating a copy of the Wall Street Journal soaked in milk and ketchup.

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