Five inkjet prints; Timberland leather boots; asphalt
Not on view
In 1991 Pope.L participated in a residency at Franklin Furnace, an alternative arts space in New York City. During the residency, he staged Tompkins Square Crawl in the guise of his alter ego, Mr. Poots. Wearing a business suit and holding a potted flower, Pope.L crawled military-style along the perimeter of Tompkins Square Park in the East Village until his boots began to crumble.
Since the 1980s, the park had been a site of ongoing riots involving the homeless population who took shelter there, squatters, activists, and police. At the time of Pope.L’s Crawl, Tompkins Square was barricaded for renovations. By assuming a prostrate posture, forcing onlookers to direct their gazes downward, Pope.L aimed to make visible historically disenfranchised bodies and displaced communities.
2019
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Pope.L
American, 1955–2023 33 works onlineFor 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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