Carl Robert Pope facts for kids

Carl Robert Pope, Jr. is an artist from America. He mainly creates art using photography and video. His artwork often explores ideas about race in America. He looks at the social conditions for African Americans. He has also made art about the AIDS epidemic and other important social and political topics in the United States.

About Carl Robert Pope, Jr.

Carl Pope was born in 1961 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has a twin sister named Karen. He went to Southern Illinois University. There, he earned a degree in Cinema and Photography.

Art Projects and Exhibitions

Fisher-Price toy camera

The Toy Camera Project

The Toy Camera project started in 1982. Carl Pope began taking pictures of the Black community in Carbondale, Illinois. He used a toy camera for his photos. This made people feel more relaxed and less threatened. The pictures look homemade and a bit worn. They show what life was like for people living in poverty in Carbondale. The photographs were special gelatin silver prints that he colored by hand.

Palimpsest Video Installation

In 1999, Pope had an exhibition in Hartford, Connecticut called Palimpsest. This was a video installation. In this artwork, Pope explored how society views race, gender, and identity. The exhibition included a video shown on a wall. His twin sister, Karen, wrote text that was also on the wall. The video showed Pope’s body changing. This highlighted how people often see race as a fixed trait, not just a surface difference. Pope's own body was a key part of the artwork. In the last part of the video, a poem written by his sister was tattooed across his entire body.

Untitled Prints

In 2000, Pope created a series of prints called Untitled. These prints featured different quotes. One of the quotes said, "Tragedy over time equals comedy!"

Notable Artworks

• The New Georgia State Flag Project (1994)
• Men Women and Children (1990)
• Catharsis: A Ten Year Survey (1991)
• Some of the Greatest Hits of The New York City Police Department (1994)
• Silent Wishes, Unconscious Dreams, and Prayers… Fulfilled (1996) was a public art piece. It had 17 large brownstone slabs. These slabs were carved with quotes from young people in Hartford, Connecticut. These young people had passed away too soon due to difficult circumstances.
• The Bad Air Smelled of Roses (2006)
• Clarity as Concept: A Poet’s Perspective (2017) was an exhibit at the Tube Factory gallery. Carl Pope worked with Mari Evans and Shauta Marsh on this project. Pope created an installation inspired by Evans’s photos, poetry, and essays.
• Nashville Visionaries (2019) at Tennessee State University

Awards and Recognition

Carl Pope received the Art Matters award in 2015.

Art Collections

His artwork is part of important collections, including:

• Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York