The University of Chicago is set to honor the late artist Pope.L with a two-day event on November 10-11. The celebration, titled “CAMPAIGN: A Celebration of Pope.L,” will take place at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and Midway Studios. It is organized by UChicago’s Division of the Humanities and is open to the public.
Pope.L was known for his interdisciplinary art, particularly his performance pieces that began in the late 1970s. His works often included crawls across cities such as New York City, Maine, and parts of Europe while dressed in business suits or Superman costumes. These performances addressed serious themes like access, identity, public health, and race. He joined UChicago in 2010 as a teacher and mentor until his passing in December 2023 at age 68.
Matthew Jesse Jackson, a professor at UChicago, described Pope.L as "a dedicated student of the human condition" whose art was "humane, generous, combative." Jackson emphasized that Pope.L's work challenges audiences to think deeply about its enduring legacy.
During the event, attendees can view works created by Pope.L during his tenure at UChicago. Highlights include pieces such as Cliff, Hansel and Gretel Graduate Seminar, and The Whispering Campaign. The Logan Center will also screen some of his performances including a rare showing of "Pope.L: The Escape," an experimental restaging from 2018.
The celebration will conclude on November 11 with a formal event featuring speakers introduced by Deborah Nelson and Matthew Jesse Jackson. Among those speaking are Darby English, Theaster Gates, Laura Letinsky, Tina Post, Dieter Roelstraete, Zachary Cahill, John Patterson, Shane Huffman, and Mami Takashi.
For more information on events or registration details for this commemoration organized by several university departments including the Department of Visual Arts and others involved in arts inquiry visit their website.