ADRIAN PIPER

Adrian Piper is a first-generation Conceptual artist and analytic philosopher. Since the 1960s, her work across mediums has drawn from her personal and professional experiences to consider the nature of subjectivity, agency, and identity in metaphysical, social, and political contexts. Inspired by her friend Sol LeWitt, the artist developed a conceptual framework for drawings and geometric sculpture before turning to performance, exploring its potential to challenge our understanding of social structures, gender, and race. In the series Mythic Being (1973–1975), for example, she publicly dons a mustache and Afro wig, adopting the signifiers of the stereotypical ‘young Black man.’ Her work often directly addresses the viewer: in the performance and video Funk Lessons (1982–1984), she teaches an audience of mostly white people how to dance to funk music. In Calling Card (1986–1990), business cards confront the reader’s own biases; and in the video installation Cornered (1988), Piper calmy tells the viewer, ‘I’m Black... Now, let’s deal with this social fact, and the fact of my stating it, together.’