Charlie White (born 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American artist and academic.
White received his BFA in 1994 from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and received his MFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 1998. He held the position of professor at the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles from 2003 to 2016. Since mid-2016 White has held the positions of professor and Head of School at the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University.
Background
White grew up in Philadelphia and attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. While a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he worked as an assistant to artists Laurie Simmons and Carroll Dunham and studied with Marilyn Minter.
White moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to attend the Art Center College of Design, where he studied with artists Stephen Prina, Mike Kelley, and Christopher Williams, and received his MFA in 1998. While a student, White created the project Femalien, which was published in CHERI magazine. The magazine was sold at an exhibition at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in November/December of 1996.
Career
White's photographs explore America's social fictions and collective identities. His earlier bodies of work, In a Matter of Days (1999) and Understanding Joshua (2001), were influenced by the highly staged art direction of photographers such as Jeff Wall. In 2003 White exhibited And Jeopardize the Integrity of the Hull (2003), in 2006 White exhibited Everything is American, a series of works looking at collective trauma, in 2008 White created a body of work titled, Girl Studies, which consists of a 35mm short film titled American Minor, an experimental animation titled OMG BFF LOL, and a series of new photographs. White created and exhibited the series Teen and Transgender Comparative Studies at the 2009 Hammer Biennial curated by Ali Subotnick. Continuing his work surrounding themes of American teenagers, White finished a series titled Casting Call in 2010, and in 2011 White was included in the Singapore Biennale, where he exhibited the works OMG BFF LOL from Girl Studies as well as Magazine Covers 2004-2007. In 2012 White exhibited several works at LACMA, including a new animation titled A life in B Tween, past works such as Casting Call, and the works from Girl Studies. Music for Sleeping Children was a collaborative project between White and Bryan Hollon, also in 2012. White's final body of photographs was titled Self Portrait in 2014 and was his first time photographing staged nudes and still lives. White also contributes writings to journals and publications such as Artforum and Words without Pictures. He was also the editor of The Enemy, a triannual online journal.
Publications
About White's work:
Hysteric Four, 1999, Hysteric Glamour Japan. (limited edition) Charlie White Photographs, 2001, Goliath Books, Germany. And Jeopardize the Integrity of the Hull, 2003, TDM Paris. (limited edition) Charlie White, 2006, DOMUS ARTIUM, Spain. Exhibition Catalog, essays by Jan Tumlir. Monsters, 2007, Powerhouse Books. Essay by Sally O'Reilly, with an interview by Benjamin Weismann. American Minor, 2009, JRP-Ringier. Essays by Christoph Doswald and Dorothea Strauss. Such Appetite, 2013, Little Brown Mushroom. Edited by Alec Soth, St. Paul, MN.
Awards
2011 MacDowell Fellow
2008 California Community Foundation, Mid-Career Artist's Grant
Music videos
Charlie White created a music video in 2004 for the band Interpol's single "Evil", from the album Antics. He also directed the lead single for the band's 2010 self-titled release, "Lights".
Charlie White took part in the 2006 Adicolor web campaign, which invited young directors to make a short web film based on a color. White selected the color pink and worked with musician Greg Weeks.
References
External links
Official website
Ghebaly Gallery
Loock Gallery
New York Times: a short story by Charlie White
Charlie White 'Music for Sleeping Children'
Interview with Charlie White and Ali Subotnik
Art in America : Interview with Charlie White
CROSSING OVER: CHARLIE WHITE
Charlie White Named Head of the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon
In a Matter of Days (1999) Understanding Joshua (2001) And Jeopardize the Integrity of the Hull (2003) Everything is American Girl Studies American Minor OMG BFF LOL Teen and Transgender Comparative Studies 2009 Hammer Biennial Casting Call OMG BFF LOL A life in B Tween Sun and Other Stars Music for Sleeping Children Self Portrait The Enemy DOMUS ARTIUM