The Wall Remixed Project
What: Carl Pope, Mari Hulick and the Mural Arts Associations’ Advertising Campaign
When: On permeant display throughout Philadelphia
Where: A map has been provided showing all of the art sites
The Bad Air Smells of Roses
What: Carl Pope’s 1993 Print Collection. Part of the Medium Resistance Exhibit
When: Now through April 4th
Where: Crane Arts 1400 American Street (map)
It is easy to dismiss conceptual art as something divorced from real life. Asking a layman, black or otherwise, what conceptual art is, let alone what it is suppose to accomplish, and you will often get
blank stares and rolling eyes. For many, museum grade art has long sense past it’s ability to make really statements about the world.
For three decades now, conceptual artist Carl Pope has sought to change that perception. Initially inspired by the power of photography to change the course of the Vietnam war, his art forces viewers to think about blackness, masculinity and sexual orientation in ways that we often prefer not to think about. Early pieces included a video project at the Whitney where Carl burned affirmations directly into this skin in response to the stories of violence he collected from the youth of Hartford Connecticut. In another he collected a controversial list documenting police brutality from the 40s through the 80s and created a row of trophies “celebrating” each act of violence. It was called New York’s Greatest Hits. Funny, heartbreaking and leading, in Carl’s words, to some both laughing and crying at the same time.
We sat down with Carl to discuss his two new exhibits here in Philadelphia as well as his general thoughts and feelings about race, the art world and life in the illadelph. The first exhibit, as part of the Philagrafica, has him interacting with local students and business owner to create advertisements. In the other, The Bad Air Smelled of Roses, Carl dives inside of himself to answer one hundred times the question: “What does blackness mean to me?”
Carl on the Philagrafica Festival:
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On the Wall Remixed Proposal:
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Early shows and Exhibits:
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The story behind New York Greatest Hits:
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The Critical Response:
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Many thanks to Carl for sitting down with us. We look forward to the next time.