Stephen Lloyd Varble (1946 – January 6, 1984) was a notorious American performance artist, playwright, and fashion designer in lower Manhattan during the 1970s.

His work challenged both mainstream conceptions of gender and exposed the materialism of the established, institutionalized art world.

"[3] He attended Daviess County High School and later went on to continue his education at the University of Kentucky where he received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

In the early 1970s, Varble was a participant in the network of New York Fluxus artists due to his romantic relationship with Geoffrey Hendricks.

[5] While Varble publicly identified as a man, some anecdotal evidence and personal writings imply that his conception of his own gender was less rigid.

Varble, evolved this persona into his alter ego, even though he identifies as a man, he would often dress as a woman in order demonstrate gender non conformity.

He was active as a playwright in the early 1970s, and his Delicate Champions was put on as part of an experimental series at the Forum at Lincoln Center in 1971.

In 1973, Varble directed his play Silent Prayer at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan (14–18, 21–25 March 1973).

In addition to writing and directing the play, Varble also designed the costumes for the production (with assistance from John Eric Broaddus).

[14] Notably, Eric Concklin, a regular at La MaMa and first director of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy, starred in the role of the father.

[16]Varble became most known in the mid-1970s for his public interventions in genderqueer costumes made from street trash, food waste, and found objects.

[2] After breaking with Hendricks, Varble became increasingly interested in creating confrontational events that disrupted business and that presented him in costumes that complicated assumptions about gender and class, not only within the art world but society at large.

For example, one of the most iconic images of Varble features him wearing long strands of pearls draped down his hips and legs, contrasted by a pearlescent codpiece ironically fashioned to look like male genitalia.

With these elements, Varble draws attention to things the viewer may expect him to hide, asserting his rejection of binary gender roles.

Upon being rebuffed, he punctured the condoms with a fountain pen and used the cow's blood to sign checks for $0,000,00.00, or 'none million dollars'.

"Gutter Art" consisted of Varble stopping outside in a limousine, which was provided by his dedicated patron Morihiro Miyazaki, dressed in elaborate silk gowns.

[23] When informed that he would be required to include artwork that could be sold, Varble produced chaotic line drawings, complete with anti-capitalist text.

[16]Varble was also a subject for many famous photographers, including Peter Hujar, Jimmy De Sana, Allan Tannenbaum, Jack Mitchell, Fred McDarrah, Greg Day, Rose Hartman, and Anton Perich.

[4] Varble stepped away from performance art around 1977, and instead began working on a video epic titled Journey to the Sun.

[26] The surviving tapes of Varble's Journey to the Sun project are archived and distributed by the Video Data Bank at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.