Meet Naomi White

We had the good fortune of connecting with Naomi White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Naomi, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
In her novel Written on the Body, about the power of desire, Jeanette Winterson writes “You risk what you value most.” By definition risk means putting into jeopardy something you love, implying a potential loss. But the lessons from failure, from experimentation and play, unlike anything material, are catalysts for transformation. Transformation is the key. It is the way out of the mess we are born into, and offers hope for the future.

Chance plays an important role in collage. It’s often part of the art process working with found images as material. I tend to think of it as a super power. It’s very good at offering surprising new ideas, compositions, and metaphors. Risk helps us see the world differently, and grow in ways we cannot predict.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m an artist, educator, and a parent to one amazing 14 year old boy and 3 cats. I grew up in Los Angeles, went to college in the Bay Area, grad school in NYC, and returned to LA 10 years ago. I have enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, being close to family, and living in a different part of town than where I grew up. I love the books about LA history, like City Of Quartz by Mike Davis, and Octavia Butler’s novels like Kindred and the Parable series. When you recognize places you’ve been in a book it adds layers to your experience of it.

I’m trained in photography and have veered into collage and mixed media, pushing further out of the two dimensional plane. I love the way collage puts multiple perspectives into conversation, recontextulizing the original intentions of images to explore an idea. I love the elasticity of this effect and the rebellious nature of cutting and tearing as an action. I have a studio practice but also do a lot of thinking and concepting in conversation with my students in the classroom. Working with art-focused people from all over the globe pushes me to reassess old ideas and question why things are done the way they are.

I think of art as an action. It doesn’t stay still. Art tends to be a way to think, to try to make sense of the often overwhelming nature of life. Art making feels like navigating a river. I channel my rage and joy, grief and love, until it floats into a form, and I feel seen and connected to the world around me.

My work takes our growing detachment from nature, the land and its creatures, as an entry point. I am thinking about materiality, injustice, and extraction, the way that capitalism drives corporations to extract at outrageous costs to all beings, the planet and its future, and especially to poor people, women and children, taking none of the responsibility and all the material reward. How does this affect the body, the mind, the spirit? What actions can we take to heal, resist and restore?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the east side of Los Angeles, and recommend seeing art at Idolwild gallery, Keystone Artspace, and Wonzimer in Lincoln Heights. There are good eats nearby like Lanza’s deli, Pho87, and Sage Blossom. For breakfast and lunch I like Kitchen Mouse in Highland Park for their great vegan options. A great late night meal can be found at the taco truck on 52 and Figueroa. My current favorite local special occasions spot is HIPPO for their mouthwatering celery root triangoli and Fett’unta bread! Some of my favorite galleries in LA are Track 16, Vielmeter, the Marshall Gallery, Von Lintel, Moskowitz Bayse, and M+B. Roller skating at Moonlight in Glendale is a time machine to the 80’s and in K town The Prince is an old school spot with booths and a bar. I also love going to the flower mart downtown and making ikebana, visiting the Huntington with its beautiful gardens, gallery, and library, and biking along the LA River in Frogtown – you can rent a cruiser bike and get a beer at Spoke.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am filled with gratitude for so many good people in my life. My husband, Ben Kotch, plays a big role in my ability to have a career in teaching and art. He is the best partner to me, and father to our son. I am grateful to my parents, Andrea and Bud White, who sent me to a Waldorf elementary school and continue to encourage my interest in the world of ideas, and to my sister Molly for her beautiful music and someone I can be my silliest with. I’m grateful to my art accountability group with Professor Ainsley LeSure and video artist Maya Gurantz; for my art community at Keystone Art Space and studio mates Julie Green and Beth Waldman. Shout out to Gallerist Melanie Prapopoulos and everyone at CAMP gallery for their thoughtful and timely programming and support. I am grateful to collaborators of our recent show Alicia Piller and Beth Davila Waldman for their warmth, community and inspiration. I’m grateful to all my dedicated students and my fellow educators Alejandro Ibarra, Amanda Rowan, Amina Cruz, Baz Here, Lane Barden, Kat Javinair, Maya Gurantz, Natalja Kent, Natasha Rudenko, Nikk Rich, Silvi Naçi, and one of my long time art heroes – the video and collage artist Suné Woods. Finally a special shout out to my longtime friend, artist and curator, Vivian Lainfiesta who always has my back.

Website: https://www.naomiwhite.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naomiwhiteart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiwhitephotography/

Image Credits
Amanda Rowan took the first image of me, Pamela Garcia took the installation shots in the gallery and my students and me in my studio, and then I took the rest