Pippa Garner (born 1942 outside of Chicago, Illinois), formerly known as Philip Garner, is an artist and author known for making parody forms of consumer products as well as custom bicycles and automobiles. Notable publications written by Garner include ''The Better Living Catalog'' and ''Utopia—or Bust! Products for the Perfect World''.

Biography

After serving in Vietnam as a combat artist, Garner began her career in the 1970s in Los Angeles as a performance artist. A Chevrolet she modified was featured in Esquire Magazine in 1975 and noticed by the San Francisco art collective Ant Farm, and she subsequently began a collaboration with

Chip Lord Chip Lord is an American media artist and Professor Emeritus, UC Santa Cruz and residing in San Francisco. He is best known for his work with the alternative architecture and media collective known as Ant Farm, which he co-founded with Doug Michels ...

. As Philip Garner, she appeared on

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

, the Merv Griffin Show and other talk shows showcasing her satirical consumer product "inventions", and her art has appeared in Car & Driver, Rolling Stone, Arts & Architecture and Vogue, among other publications. In the 1980s, Pippa began her transition to a different gender as part of what she considered an "art project to create disorientation in my position in society, and sort of balk any possibility of ever falling into a stereotype again." Pippa Garner participated in ''Trappings,'' an artwork by Two Girls Working: Tiffany Ludwig and Renee Piechocki. During her interview for the project, she described her transition from male to female as a form of artistic expression. Pippa has also appeared on the show

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as a guest artist in a few episodes. In 1997, Garner showed in "Hello Again!", a recycled art focused show which opened at the

Oakland Museum The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Cali ...

and travelled throughout North America. The show, curated by Susan Subtle, featured Garner alongside

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Leo Sewell Leo Sewell (born ) is an American " found object" artist. His assemblages of recycled material are in over 40 museums and in private collections worldwide. Biography Sewell was born in Annapolis, Maryland, United States and moved to Philadelphia ...

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, Claire Graham, Jan Yager, Remi Rubel,

Mark Bulwinkle Mark Bulwinkle (born 1946, Waltham, Massachusetts) is an American graphic artist and sculptor who works in cut steel. He received a BFA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968 and an MFA in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute in 19 ...

, and others. In 2017, Garner had a solo show at Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles where she presented sculptures, drawings, and videos. She lives in Long Beach, California. Her work has been described as a "critique of car culture", reflecting on the US fascination with overbuilt, supersized machines.

Immaculate Misconceptions

Garner is known for her ''Immaculate Misconceptions'' projects that she has been creating throughout her artistic practice. The series consists of hundreds of inventions, most of them involving repurposing household consumer products into gadgets or absurd devices. For example the ironic ''"Hurl-A-Burger"'' machine is a type of catapult designed to "promote cultural exchange" by launching fast food over international border walls.

Collections

Garner's work is in the collection of the Audrain Auto Museum of Rhode Island, a selection of her photographs are held in the Contemporary Art Library archives.

Published works

''Better Living Catalog''

''Philip Garner's Better Living Catalog: 62 Absolute Necessities for Contemporary Survival'' was published in 1982 by Putnam Publishing Group

''Utopia—or Bust! Products for the Perfect World''

''Utopia—or Bust! Products for the Perfect World'' was published in 1984 by Putnam Publishing Group.

''Garner's Gizmos & Gadgets''

''Garner's Gizmos & Gadgets'' was published in 1987 Perigee Trade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Pippa 1942 births Living people Transgender artists Transgender women Transgender writers American LGBT artists American contemporary artists Queer artists