Illustrations  vii

Acknowledgments  xi

Introduction: Adrian Piper's Performance of Race and the Moral Question of Racism  1

Section I, 1965–1970 The Paradox of the Black Woman Conceptual Artist  

1. Contingent and Universal: Adrian Piper and the Minimalist Ideal  33

2. Hypothesis: Modernism and the Woman Artist's Studio  69

Section II, 1970–1975 Personal Politics and Performance Art  

3. May 1970: Art and Activism  125

4. Catalysis: Feminist Art and Experience  162

5. Food for the Spirit: Transcendence and Desire  205

6. "Acting Like a Man": The Mythic Being and Black Feminism  229

Conclusion: The Mythic Being and the Aesthetics of Direct Address  257

Notes  263

Bibliography  299

Index  319

“While there is much written about Piper, there are few volumes dedicated exclusively to such a complete investigation of her artistic career. It is a great addition to contemporary art scholarship, and is therefore recommended for any academic or research library that supports such pursuits.”—Melanie Emerson, ARLIS/NA Reviews

“An amount of scholarship and personal acquaintance makes this book an informative read that leaves one wanting to know more about Piper’s exemplary approach to the question of what it might mean to make political art.”—Maria Walsh, Art Monthly

“With a well-organized index and bibliography, this monograph will be useful for specialists in contemporary African American art. An examination of Piper ’s sophisticated work and writing would make a challenging graduate seminar for students of art history or ethnic/women’s studies.”—Stacy E. Schultz, Woman’s Art Journal

“Bowles’s Adrian Piper: Race, Gender and Embodiment offers a detailed view of an artist dealing with the contingency of identity. . . . The inclusion of more than a decade of personal communication between Bowles and Piper make this a particularly fascinating study.”—Jordana Moore Saggese, CAA Reviews

“[A] thoughtful study of the artist’s early work…”—Margo Hobbs Thompson, Signs

“John P. Bowles’s new book, Adrian Piper: Race, Gender, and Embodiment,
is not only a beautifully written tribute to Piper’s passionate, creative,
and intelligent art and politics from the late 1960s to the late 1980s,
it is an injunction to readers to apply Piper’s interrogations of cultural
representations and receptions of race and gender to the contemporary
world.”—Elise Morrison, Theatre Annual

“While there is much written about Piper, there are few volumes dedicated exclusively to such a complete investigation of her artistic career. It is a great addition to contemporary art scholarship, and is therefore recommended for any academic or research library that supports such pursuits.”—Melanie Emerson, ARLIS/NA Reviews

“An amount of scholarship and personal acquaintance makes this book an informative read that leaves one wanting to know more about Piper’s exemplary approach to the question of what it might mean to make political art.”—Maria Walsh, Art Monthly

“With a well-organized index and bibliography, this monograph will be useful for specialists in contemporary African American art. An examination of Piper ’s sophisticated work and writing would make a challenging graduate seminar for students of art history or ethnic/women’s studies.”—Stacy E. Schultz, Woman’s Art Journal

“Bowles’s Adrian Piper: Race, Gender and Embodiment offers a detailed view of an artist dealing with the contingency of identity. . . . The inclusion of more than a decade of personal communication between Bowles and Piper make this a particularly fascinating study.”—Jordana Moore Saggese, CAA Reviews

“[A] thoughtful study of the artist’s early work…”—Margo Hobbs Thompson, Signs

“John P. Bowles’s new book, Adrian Piper: Race, Gender, and Embodiment,
is not only a beautifully written tribute to Piper’s passionate, creative,
and intelligent art and politics from the late 1960s to the late 1980s,
it is an injunction to readers to apply Piper’s interrogations of cultural
representations and receptions of race and gender to the contemporary
world.”—Elise Morrison, Theatre Annual

“John P. Bowles’s Adrian Piper: Race, Gender, and Embodiment is a groundbreaking, meticulously researched, and beautifully written text that challenges its readers to understand Adrian Piper’s early work in provocative new ways. Bowles forces us to re-evaluate our understanding of the histories of Conceptualism, Minimalism, feminism, and their intersections with the visual practices of African American artists.”—Steven Nelson, University of California, Los Angeles

“Adrian Piper: Race, Gender, and Embodiment is an important book. John P. Bowles has much to say not only about Piper’s own artistic journey but also about how scholars have chosen to read the avant-garde creative production of the 1960s and 1970s, and whether or not one can ever escape the ‘burden of the flesh’ when one creates or interprets works of art.”—Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, author of Seeing the Unspeakable: The Art of Kara Walker

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