Adrian Piper. seit 1965: Metakunst und Kunstkritik

This first German-language publication on Adrian Piper brings together several aspects of the artist, author and philosopher, who was born in Harlem, New York, in 1948 and now lives in Berlin, namely her visual work, writings on art and art criticism as well as philosophical reflections. The entire spectrum of an extraordinary oeuvre is presented, beginning with paintings and early conceptual works from the 1960s, through performances in the 1970s, to current works.

During the 1970s, the strict, mostly text-based works that appeared in publications were increasingly replaced by performances in public spaces. Since the 1980s, Piper has been known for exploring themes such as racism, xenophobia and the nature of the self. Her works—photo-text collages, drawings, performances and (video) installations—are conceived as acts of political communication. The aim is to evoke an immediate reaction in the viewer to their own, often deep-seated impulses and responses to these themes. Adrian Piper’s texts also correspond to this genealogy and methodology, ranging from visionary reflections on art and its commodity character to “A Kantian Analysis of Xenophobia”.

This volume was published to accompany the exhibition at the Generali Foundation 2002 in Vienna and is organized according to the following themes:
Meta-Art 1968–70: The Metaphysics of Conceptual Art
Meta-Art 1970–78: Performance Art and Politics
Meta-Art 1975–80: The political dimension of art objects
Meta-Art 1981–2001: Racism, Xenophobia and the Self
A Kantian Analysis of Xenophobia
Exhibition check list and Bio- and bibliography of the artist