“I believe art re-ritualizes the everyday to reveal something fresh about our lives. This revelation is a vitality and it is a power to change the world.”—Pope.LPope.L (b. Newark, US, 1955; d. Chicago, US, 2023) was one of the foremost creators of political conceptual art in the United States. Among his best-known works rank his Crawl performances, for which the artist—variously wearing business attire, a dandelion in hand, or a Superman costume—got on his hands and knees to crawl through New York’s streets for miles. Challenging bystanders to look down and actually see him, he used his body to expose inequalities and power differentials in society. His oeuvre also spanned the media of painting, sculpture, installation art, and photography. Devising a practice with deep roots in philosophy and the theater, Pope.L from the 1970s onward produced seminal works exploring questions of language, gender, racism, and community. Hospital documents Pope.L’s 2023 exhibition at the South London Gallery, which tragically turned out to be the last in his lifetime. With an essay by Legacy Russell, an introduction by Margot Heller, and an interview with the artist.
