Kalup Linzy
1977–
Encompassing performance, video, music, writing, and directing, Kalup Linzy’s art probes the socioeconomic structures of high and low culture with equal parts earnestness, resourcefulness, and wit. After studying at the University of South Florida and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, in 2002 Linzy began producing Conversations Wit de Churen, an episodic video series that continued for over a decade. The work focuses on the emotional lives of a host of female characters, all played by the artist in drag. These narratives play with the trope of daytime television soap opera— with its melodrama, plot twists, and cliffhanger endings—and make reference to the long-running soap operas All My Children and As the World Turns. The story is set in the American South, and each character speaks with a distinct dialect in a voice-over that is slowed down or sped up to create masculine and feminine tones. The multiple layers of Linzy’s performance— histrionic acting, affected speech, blonde wigs, and tight dresses—result in direct commentaries on gender, race, sexuality, and class.
Conversations Wit de Churen V: As da Art World Might Turn follows a promising young painter, “Katonya” (played by Linzy), as she stages her first solo gallery exhibition. Made shortly after Linzy himself experienced his first art-world successes, the video parodies the rise, fall, and ultimate return of a hopeful emerging artist. Linzy’s subsequent videos and performance have investigated the structures of celebrity and pop culture and include collaborations with personas such as musician Michael Stipe and actor James Franco, among others.
Introduction
Kalup Linzy (born July 23, 1977) is an American video and performance artist who currently lives and works in Tulsa, OK. His performance are characterized by their low-tech quality, themes of community, socializing, family, the church, sexuality and homosexuality.
Wikidata identifier
Q6354621
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed May 11, 2025.
Roles
Artist, photographer
ULAN identifier
500127954
Names
Kalup Linzy
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed May 11, 2025.
