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{{Short description|American artist}}
{{Infobox artist
{{Infobox artist
| honorific_prefix =
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| name = Joshua White
| name = Joshua White
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| image =JW In Concert.jpg
| image = Joshua White.jpg
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| native_name_lang =
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| birth_name = <!-- only use if different than name -->
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| birth_date = December 1942
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1942|12}}
| birth_place = New York, U.S.
| birth_place = New York, U.S.
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
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| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
⚫
| education = [[Carnegie Tech]]<br />[[USC Film School]]
| nationality = American
⚫
| education = [[Carnegie Tech]]<br>[[USC Film School]]
| alma_mater =
| alma_mater =
| known_for = Joshua Light Show
| known_for = Joshua Light Show
| notable_works =
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| website = <!-- {{URL|joshualightshow.com}} -->
| website = <!-- {{URL|joshualightshow.com}} -->
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'''Joshua White''' (born 1942) is an American artist, video maker and broadcast television director. Best known for [[The Joshua Light Show]], a 1960s and 1970s liquid light show, his work is in the permanent collection of the [[Museum of Modern Art]]<ref name="Moma">{{cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/2113?locale=en|title=Special Gallery Session with Light Show Designer Joshua|last=|first=|date=|website=www.moma.org|publisher=Museum of Modern Art|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|accessdate=22 March 2017}}</ref> in New York and has been exhibited at [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]], the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]], the [[Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden|Hirshhorn Museum]], the [[New Museum]], [[Hayden Planetarium]], [[Barbican Center]] and the [[Centre Pompidou]] as well as many other venues. {{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
'''Joshua White''' (born 1942) is an American artist, video maker and broadcast television director. Best known for [[The Joshua Light Show]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Farberman |first=Brad |date=2017-09-07 |title=Inside Joshua Light Show's 50-Year Quest to Make Rock & Roll Visual |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/inside-joshua-light-shows-50-year-quest-to-make-rock-roll-visual-199321/ |access-date=2023-12-12 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> a 1960s and 1970s liquid light show, his work is in the permanent collection of the [[Museum of Modern Art]]<ref name="Moma">{{cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/2113?locale=en|title=Special Gallery Session with Light Show Designer Joshua|website=www.moma.org|publisher=Museum of Modern Art|access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref> in New York and has been exhibited at [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]], the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]], the [[Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden|Hirshhorn Museum]], the [[New Museum]], the [[Hayden Planetarium]], the [[Barbican Center]] in London, the [[Centre Pompidou]] in Paris, [[The Broad|The Broad Museum]] in Los Angeles, and the [[New-York Historical Society]] as well as many other venues.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Born in December 1942, Joshua White's parents were first generation American Jews whose families fled [[Russia]] to escape the Czarist [[Pogroms in Russia|pogroms]]. His father, Lawrence White (''né'' Weiss) was a successful radio and television producer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2399272/|title=Lawrence White|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> {{citation needed|date=April 2017}} White attended Elizabeth Irwin High School in [[New York City|New York]]'s [[Greenwich Village]], a haven for left wing intellectuals during the time of [[McCarthyism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com|title=Why is the Weather Underground Still Making News|last=McMillan|first=John|date=27 January 2003|work=Washington Post|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Commies; A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left and the Left Left|last=Radosh|first=Ronald|publisher=|year=2001|isbn=978-1893554054|location=|pages=25}}</ref> White often spent afternoons at the [[Museum of Modern Art|MoMA]], where he became particularly fascinated by a small [[kinetic sculpture]] titled ''Vertical Sequence II, Opus 137'', 1941, a "Lumia" by the self-taught artist [[Thomas Wilfred]] (1889-1968).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zinman|first=Gregory|date=June 27, 2011|title=Lumia|url=|journal=New Yorker|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref>
Born in December 1942, Joshua White's parents were first-generation [[American Jews]] whose families fled [[Russia]] to escape the Czarist [[Pogroms in Russia|pogroms]]. His father, Lawrence White (''né'' Weiss) was a successful radio and television producer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2399272/|title=Lawrence White|website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> {{citation needed|date=April 2017}} White attended Elisabeth Irwin High School in [[New York City|New York]]'s [[Greenwich Village]], a haven for left wing intellectuals during the time of [[McCarthyism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com|title=Why is the Weather Underground Still Making News|last=McMillan|first=John|date=27 January 2003|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Commies; A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left and the Left Left|last=Radosh|first=Ronald|year=2001|isbn=978-1893554054|pages=[https://archive.org/details/commies00rona/page/25 25]|publisher=Encounter |url=https://archive.org/details/commies00rona/page/25}}</ref> White often spent afternoons at the [[Museum of Modern Art|MoMA]], where he became particularly fascinated by a small [[kinetic sculpture]] titled ''Vertical Sequence II, Opus 137'', 1941, a "Lumia" by the self-taught artist [[Thomas Wilfred]] (1889-1968).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zinman|first=Gregory|date=June 27, 2011|title=Lumia|journal=New Yorker}}</ref>


After attending [[Carnegie Tech]] Drama School and [[USC Film School]], White returned to New York, where he found work on exploitation films such as ''Girl on a Chain Gang'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059226/|title=Girl On A Chain Gang|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> ''I was a Teenage Mother''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061071/|title=I Was A Teenage Mother|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> and ''[[Who Killed Teddy Bear?]]'', starring [[Sal Mineo]].
After attending [[Carnegie Tech]] Drama School and [[USC Film School]], White returned to New York, where he found work on exploitation films such as ''Girl on a Chain Gang'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059226/|title=Girl On A Chain Gang|website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> ''I was a Teenage Mother''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061071/|title=I Was A Teenage Mother|website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> and ''[[Who Killed Teddy Bear?]]'', starring [[Sal Mineo]].


==Early work==
==Early work==
In 1965, White apprenticed himself to [[Bobb Goldsteinn]], who presented a weekly series of loft parties <ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Fillmore East, Recollections of Rock Theater|last=Kostelanetz|first=Richard|publisher=|year=1995|isbn=0-02-871-847-X|location=|pages=Chapter 2|quote=|via=}}</ref> featuring lights, a mirror ball, slides and films all projected on multiple screens. In 1966, White formed a company with [[Kip Cohen]], John Morris, Thomas Shoesmith and William Schwarzbach called "[[Liquid light show|Sensefex]]".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Concert Lighting, the Art and Business of Entertainment Lighting|last=James L. Moody|first=Paul Dexter|publisher=|year=2017|isbn=978-1-315-62781-6|location=|pages=15|quote=|via=}}</ref> In addition to [[discotheques]], they designed industrial shows for [[DuPont|Dupont]], [[IBM]], and [[Time-Life]], and a fashion show for dress designer Tiger Morse,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Popism|last=Warhol|first=Andy|publisher=Harcourt|year=2006|isbn=|location=|pages=65|quote=|via=}}</ref> staged in the swimming pool of the Henry Hudson Hotel.
In 1965, White apprenticed himself to the multi-media artist [[Bobb Goldsteinn]], who presented a weekly series of downtown loft parties<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Fillmore East, Recollections of Rock Theater|last=Kostelanetz|first=Richard|year=1995|isbn=0-02-871-847-X|pages=Chapter 2|publisher=Schirmer Books }}</ref> featuring lights, a mirror ball, slides and films all projected on multiple screens. In 1966, White formed a company with [[Kip Cohen]], John Morris, Thomas Shoesmith and William Schwarzbach called "[[Liquid light show|Sensefex]]".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Concert Lighting, the Art and Business of Entertainment Lighting|last=James L. Moody|first=Paul Dexter|year=2017|isbn=978-1-315-62781-6|pages=15}}</ref> In addition to [[discotheques]], they designed industrial shows for [[DuPont|Dupont]], [[IBM]], and [[Time-Life]], and a fashion show for dress designer [[Tiger Morse]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Popism|last=Warhol|first=Andy|publisher=Harcourt|year=2006|pages=65}}</ref> staged in the swimming pool of the Henry Hudson Hotel.


In 1967, Sensefex was hired by the promoter [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]] for his new East Coast presentation "The San Francisco Scene", to be staged in [[Toronto]] and featuring [[Jefferson Airplane]] and the [[Grateful Dead]].<ref name=":6" /> White was exposed for the first time to what was going on in [[San Francisco]]; one attraction in particular was "Headlights", a Bay Area light show. Afterwards, Sensefex became solely focused on creating and performing light shows.<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=1967, the Summer of Love|last=Simms|first=Judith|date=8 August 1987|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=13 March 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sweet Chaos; The Grateful Dead's American Adventure|last=Brightman|first=Carol|publisher=|year=1999|isbn=0-671-01117-0|location=|page=92}}</ref> {{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
In 1967, Sensefex was hired by the promoter [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]] for his new East Coast presentation "The San Francisco Scene", to be staged in [[Toronto]] and featuring [[Jefferson Airplane]] and the [[Grateful Dead]].<ref name=":6" /> White was exposed for the first time to what was going on in [[San Francisco]]; one attraction in particular was Jerry Abrams & Glenn McKay's "Headlights", a Bay Area light show. Afterwards, Sensefex became solely focused on creating and performing light shows.<ref>{{Cite news|title=1967, the Summer of Love|last=Simms|first=Judith|date=8 August 1987|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sweet Chaos; The Grateful Dead's American Adventure|last=Brightman|first=Carol|year=1999|isbn=0-671-01117-0|page=92|publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref>


==Joshua Light Show==
==Joshua Light Show==
[[File:ZAPPA 3.jpg|thumb]]
⚫
Later that year White founded the [[Joshua Light Show]]. The first week of bookings was in a theater on [[Long Island]] behind [[Frank Zappa]], [[Vanilla Fudge]], [[Ravi Shankar]] and others.<ref name=":4" /> By 1968 the Joshua Light Show was backing all the artists at ''[[Crawdaddy (magazine)|Crawdaddy]]'' magazine's<ref name=":4" /> weekend shows at the Anderson Theater (66 2nd Avenue). Impressed by the success of those shows, Bill Graham opened his own theater two blocks away.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Bill Graham Presents|last=Robert Greenfield|first=Bill Graham|publisher=|year=1992|isbn=0-385-240-77-5|location=|pages=226–233|quote=|via=}}</ref> On March 28, 1968 the Fillmore East opened with [[Albert King]], [[Tim Buckley]], [[Janis Joplin]] with [[Big Brother and the Holding Company]], and at every show, The Joshua Light Show.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pouncey|first=Edwin|year=1999|title=Light Labratories|url=|journal=Frieze Magazine|volume=|pages=56–59|via=}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Spaced Out, Radical Environments of the Psychedelic Sixties|last=Gordon|first=Alastair|publisher=|year=2008|isbn=1-55972-205-3|location=|pages=50|quote=|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=St. Marks Is Dead|last=Calhoun|first=Ada|publisher=|year=2016|isbn=978-0-393-240-38-2|location=|pages=135, 155, 172, 178, 189, 181, 196|quote=|via=}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Rage & Roll, Billy Graham and the Selling of Rock|last=Glatt|first=John|publisher=|year=1993|isbn=1-55972-205-3|location=|pages=81, 89,137|quote=|via=}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title=Live at the Fillmore East|last=Rothschild|first=Amalie R.|publisher=|year=1999|isbn=1-56025-244-8|location=|pages=22–33|quote=|via=}}</ref>


⚫
Later that year White founded the [[Joshua Light Show]] (JLS). The first week of bookings was in a theater on [[Long Island]] behind [[Frank Zappa]], [[Vanilla Fudge]], [[Ravi Shankar]] and others.<ref name=":4" /> By 1968 the Joshua Light Show was backing all the artists at ''[[Crawdaddy (magazine)|Crawdaddy]]'' magazine's<ref name=":4" /> weekend shows at the Anderson Theater (66 2nd Avenue). Impressed by the success of those shows, Bill Graham opened his own theater two blocks away.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Bill Graham Presents|last=Robert Greenfield|first=Bill Graham|year=1992|isbn=0-385-240-77-5|pages=226–233|publisher=Doubleday }}</ref> On March 28, 1968, the Fillmore East opened with [[Albert King]], [[Tim Buckley]], [[Janis Joplin]] with [[Big Brother and the Holding Company]], and at every show, The Joshua Light Show.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Pouncey |first=Edwin |year=1999 |title=Light Laboratories |pages=56–59 |journal=Frieze Magazine}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Spaced Out, Radical Environments of the Psychedelic Sixties|last=Gordon|first=Alastair|year=2008|isbn=978-1-55972-205-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ragerollbillgrah00glat_0/page/50 50]|publisher=Carol Publishing |url=https://archive.org/details/ragerollbillgrah00glat_0/page/50}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=St. Marks Is Dead|last=Calhoun|first=Ada|year=2016|isbn=978-0-393-240-38-2|pages=135, 155, 172, 178, 189, 181, 196|publisher=National Geographic Books }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Rage & Roll, Billy Graham and the Selling of Rock|last=Glatt|first=John|year=1993|isbn=1-55972-205-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ragerollbillgrah00glat_0/page/81 81, 89,137]|publisher=Carol Publishing |url=https://archive.org/details/ragerollbillgrah00glat_0/page/81}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title=Live at the Fillmore East|last=Rothschild|first=Amalie R.|year=1999|isbn=1-56025-244-8|pages=22–33|publisher=Da Capo Press }}</ref>
⚫
That same year, [[John Schlesinger]] started production on ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]''. For a key party scene, he wanted a Warhol's Factory type party and hired the Joshua Light Show to create the environment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Isaacson|first=David|date=August 31, 1968|title=Lights Shows|url=|journal=Amusement Business|volume=|pages=Pg 27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=July 2002|title=The Joshua Light Show Group|url=|journal=Entertainment Design|volume=35 Year Anniversary|pages=pg 30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-W_rye752o|title=Midnight Cowboy Party Scene|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>
[[File:JLS COPENHAGEN.jpg|thumb|The Joshua Light Show with the Chambers Brothers]]


The JLS has also provided visual backgrounds for the [[Grateful Dead]], [[the Who]], [[Jefferson Airplane]], [[the Doors]], [[Lou Reed]], and [[Television (band)|Television]] and others. The light show appeared on the back cover of [[Jimi Hendrix]]'s album ''[[Band of Gypsys|Band of Gypsies]]'' and the front cover of Iron Butterfly's album [[In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (album)|In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Farberman|first=Brad|date=2017-09-07|title=Inside Joshua Light Show's 50-Year Quest to Make Rock & Roll Visual|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/inside-joshua-light-shows-50-year-quest-to-make-rock-roll-visual-199321/|access-date=2021-08-05|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>
⚫
After touring Europe with the [[Chambers Brothers]] in the summer of 1969, the Joshua Light Show performed at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]], Fillmore at [[Tanglewood]], and the [[Woodstock|Woodstock Music and Art Fair]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Back to the Garden (the Story of Woodstock)|last=Fornatele|first=Pete|publisher=|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4165-9119-1|location=|pages=30, 31}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=August 1970|title=Bach to Hard Rock|url=|journal=National Geographic|volume=|pages=pg. 215}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://woodstockwhisperer.info|title=34,000 Hear Rock at Newport Fete|last=Wilson|first=John S.|date=July 5, 1969|website=http://woodstockwhisperer.info|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> The Joshua Light Show continued at the Fillmore, including the Jimi Hendrix New Year's Eve 1969-70 performance.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jimi Hendrix: Musician|last=Shadwick|first=Keith|publisher=|year=2003|isbn=978-0-879-30764-6|location=|pages=212}}</ref> Meanwhile, White was negotiating his exit. Three years after the Fillmore first opened its doors, the light show changed its name to Joe's Lights, and White moved on.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of the Avante-Gardes|last=Kostelanetz|first=Richard|publisher=|year=2000|isbn=0-02865-379-3|location=|pages=322|quote=|via=}}</ref>

⚫
That same year, [[John Schlesinger]] started production on ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]''. For a key party scene, he wanted a Warhol's Factory type party and hired the Joshua Light Show to create the environment.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Isaacson |first=David |date=August 31, 1968 |title=Lights Shows |pages=27 |journal=Amusement Business}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=July 2002|title=The Joshua Light Show Group|journal=Entertainment Design|volume=35 Year Anniversary|pages=30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-W_rye752o|title=Midnight Cowboy Party Scene|website=[[YouTube]] |date=19 October 2015 }}</ref>

⚫
After touring Europe with [[The Chambers Brothers]] in the summer of 1969, the Joshua Light Show performed at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]], Fillmore at [[Tanglewood]], and the [[Woodstock|Woodstock Music and Art Fair]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Back to the Garden (the Story of Woodstock)|last=Fornatele|first=Pete|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4165-9119-1|pages=30, 31|publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite magazine |date=August 1970 |title=Bach to Hard Rock |pages=215 |journal=National Geographic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://woodstockwhisperer.info|title=34,000 Hear Rock at Newport Fete|last=Wilson|first=John S.|date=July 5, 1969|website=Woodstockwhisperer.info}}</ref> The Joshua Light Show continued at the Fillmore, including the Jimi Hendrix New Year's Eve 1969-70 performance.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jimi Hendrix: Musician|last=Shadwick|first=Keith|year=2003|isbn=978-0-879-30764-6|pages=212|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation }}</ref> Meanwhile, White was negotiating his exit. Three years after the Fillmore first opened its doors, the light show changed its name to Joe's Lights, and White moved on.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of the Avante-Gardes|last=Kostelanetz|first=Richard|year=2000|isbn=0-02865-379-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofavan0000kost_02ed/page/322 322]|publisher=Schirmer Books |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofavan0000kost_02ed/page/322}}</ref>


==Joshua Television==
==Joshua Television==
In 1970 White invented Joshua Television, an electronic light show using large screen video magnification.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ross|first=Lillian|year=1971|title=Video Magnifier|url=|journal=New Yorker|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref> Along with White's partner Lee Erdman, Joshua Television provided big screen projections for many acts at [[Madison Square Garden]], [[LA Forum]], [[Hollywood Bowl]], and [[Spectrum (arena)|The Spectrum]] in Philadelphia, and several shows for the Fillmore at Tanglewood for acts such as [[Led Zeppelin]] and the [[Grateful Dead]].<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=28 August 1971|title=Videomagnifier|url=|journal=The New Yorker: Talk of the Town|volume=|pages=p 19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=July 1972|title=David On Stage!|url=|journal=16 Magazine|volume=|pages=p 20}}</ref> Often, these concerts were videotaped. Network television discovered rock and roll, and in 1973 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] started a late night rock series called ''In Concert'',<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Stein|first=Kathi|date=September 1974|title=TV Rock: the Inside Story With Deep Purple and Black Sabbath|url=|journal=Circus Raves|volume=|pages=p 44}}</ref> produced at first by [[Don Kirshner]], then [[Dick Clark]] and later by White himself.
In 1970 White invented Joshua Television, an electronic light show using large screen video magnification.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Ross |first=Lillian |year=1971 |title=Video Magnifier |journal=New Yorker}}</ref> Along with White's partner Lee Erdman and director [[Lynn Goldsmith]], Joshua Television provided big screen projections for many acts at [[Madison Square Garden]], [[LA Forum]], [[Hollywood Bowl]], and [[Spectrum (arena)|The Spectrum]] in Philadelphia, and several shows for the Fillmore at Tanglewood for acts such as [[Led Zeppelin]] and the [[Grateful Dead]].<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=28 August 1971 |title=Videomagnifier |pages=19 |journal=The New Yorker: Talk of the Town}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=July 1972 |title=David On Stage! |page=20 |journal=16 Magazine}}</ref> Often, these concerts were videotaped. Network television discovered rock and roll, first with ABC's ''Shindig'' in 1962, and in 1971, ABC started a late night rock series called ''In Concert''. It been created by Don Kirshner. However, after the first episode with Alice Cooper,<ref name=":8">{{Cite magazine |last=Stein |first=Kathi |date=September 1974 |title=TV Rock: the Inside Story With Deep Purple and Black Sabbath |page=44 |journal=Circus Raves}}</ref> ABC brought in David Sontag to take over the show and executive produce. He hired Joshua White to direct. Sontag left after the first season in 1971 to produce a movie he had written. Don Kirshner launched his version of ''In Concert'' on ABC, produced by [[Don Kirshner|Kirshner]] in 1972, then [[Dick Clark]] and later by White himself.


In addition to rock television, White staged the first rock concert at [[Radio City Music Hall]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Village Voice|last=|first=|date=February 13, 1973|work=|access-date=|via=}}</ref> He created the analog projection for the Broadway show starring [[Harry Chapin]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Barnes|first=Clive|date=February 27, 1975|title=Harry Chapin Brings Songs to Broadway|url=|journal=New York Times|volume=|pages=30|via=}}</ref> He also directed for television the [[National Theater of the Deaf]]'s version of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534216/|title=A Childs Christmas in Wales|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> narrated by [[Michael Redgrave|Sir Michael Redgrave]], and a special with [[Alvin Ailey]] celebrating the music of [[Duke Ellington]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title='Crusoe' & Ailey Ballet Hold Lure for the Young|last=Gardella|first=Kay|date=26 November 1974|work=New York Daily News|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=TV: Holiday Specials From Splendid to Poor|last=O'Conner|first=John|date=|work=|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=27 November 1974|dead-url=}}</ref> Both shows were nominated for [[Emmy Award]]s. White was also nominated for an [[26th Primetime Emmy Awards|Emmy]] for [[Cat Stevens]]' ''Moon & Star, A Late Night Special on ABC''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0357785/|title=IMDB|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> {{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
In addition to rock television, White staged the first rock concert at [[Radio City Music Hall]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Village Voice|date=February 13, 1973}}</ref> He created the analog projection for the Broadway show ''[[The Night That Made America Famous]]'' starring [[Harry Chapin]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=February 27, 1975 |title=Harry Chapin Brings Songs to Broadway |pages=30 |work=New York Times}}</ref> He also directed for television the [[National Theater of the Deaf]]'s version of [[Dylan Thomas]]' ''[[A Child's Christmas in Wales]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534216/|title=A Childs Christmas in Wales|website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> narrated by [[Michael Redgrave|Sir Michael Redgrave]], and a special with [[Alvin Ailey]] celebrating the music of [[Duke Ellington]].<ref>{{Cite news|title='Crusoe' & Ailey Ballet Hold Lure for the Young|last=Gardella|first=Kay|date=26 November 1974|work=New York Daily News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=TV: Holiday Specials From Splendid to Poor|last=O'Conner|first=John}}</ref> Both shows were nominated for [[Emmy Award]]s. White was also nominated for an [[26th Primetime Emmy Awards|Emmy]] for [[Cat Stevens]]' ''Moon & Star, A Late Night Special on ABC''.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}


==Broadcast television==
==Broadcast television==
Between 1974 and 2006, White directed a wide range of broadcast and cable television: The [[California Jam]],<ref name=":8" /> ''Neil Diamond Live in Australia'',<ref>(2008).''Neil Diamond: Thank You Australia Live-1976''.DVD.ASIN B001TLRVS
Between 1974 and 2006, White directed a wide range of broadcast and cable television: ''The [[California Jam]]'',<ref name=":8" /> ''Neil Diamond Live in Australia'',<ref>(2008).''Neil Diamond: Thank You Australia Live-1976''.DVD.ASIN B001TLRVS
</ref> The ''[[Mickey Mouse Club]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=Why? Because We Like You: An Oral History of then Mickey Mouse Club|last=Armstrong|first=Jennifer|publisher=|year=2010|isbn=978-0-446-57434-1|location=|pages=}}</ref> the ''[[Jerry Lewis Telethon]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=May 1992|title=Jerry!|url=|journal=Spy Magazine|volume= 6| issue = 7|pages=p 44}}</ref> ''[[Delta House]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=That's Not Funny, That's Sick: The National Lampoon and the comedy insurgents who captured the mainstream|last=Stein|first=Ellin|publisher=|year=2013|isbn=978-0-446-57434-1|location=|pages=364, 365}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots, and Specials 1974-1984|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|publisher=|year=1985|isbn=0-918432-61-8|location=|pages=110}}</ref> ''[[Pirates of Penzance]] Live in Central Park'',<ref>''Gilbert and Sullivan Broadway Theater Archive: The Pirates of Penzance''.DVD.ASIN B00006RCMW
</ref> The ''[[Mickey Mouse Club]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=Why? Because We Like You: An Oral History of then Mickey Mouse Club|last=Armstrong|first=Jennifer|year=2010|publisher=Hachette+ORM |isbn=978-0-446-57434-1}}</ref> the ''[[Jerry Lewis Telethon]]'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 1992 |title=Jerry! |volume=6 |issue=7 |pages=44 |journal=Spy Magazine}}</ref> ''[[Delta House]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=That's Not Funny, That's Sick: The National Lampoon and the comedy insurgents who captured the mainstream|last=Stein|first=Ellin|year=2013|isbn=978-0-446-57434-1|pages=364, 365|publisher=Hachette+ORM }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots, and Specials 1974-1984|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|year=1985|isbn=0-918432-61-8|pages=110|publisher=VNR AG }}</ref> ''[[Pirates of Penzance]] Live in Central Park'',<ref>''Gilbert and Sullivan Broadway Theater Archive: The Pirates of Penzance''.DVD.ASIN B00006RCMW
</ref> Laurie Anderson's ''[[Oh Superman]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=7 September 1982|title=Department of Film: Performance V of Performance Video|url=|journal=MoMA Guide|volume=|pages=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=9 April 2007|title=Goings On About the Town: Night Life|url=|journal=The New Yorker|volume=|pages=}}</ref> ''[[Max Headroom (TV series)|Max Headroom]]'', ''[[Encyclopedia (TV series)|Encyclopedia]]'' for HBO, ''[[Club MTV]]'', ''[[The Library (Seinfeld)|Seinfeld]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Totally Unauthorized Tribute (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)|last=Wild|first=David|publisher=Three River's Press|year=1998|isbn=0-609-80311-5|location=|pages=107|quote=|via=}}</ref> and ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Singleton|first=Don|date=21 April 1996|title=White Gave Rock Stoned-Out Hues|url=|journal=NY Daily News|volume=|pages=}}</ref>
</ref> Laurie Anderson's ''[[Oh Superman]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal|date=7 September 1982|title=Department of Film: Performance V of Performance Video|journal=MoMA Guide}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=9 April 2007 |title=Goings On About the Town: Night Life |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref> ''[[Max Headroom (TV series)|Max Headroom]]'', ''[[Encyclopedia (TV series)|Encyclopedia]]'' for HBO, ''[[Club MTV]]'', [[Inside the Actors Studio]] and ''[[The Library (Seinfeld)|Seinfeld]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Totally Unauthorized Tribute (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)|last=Wild|first=David|publisher=Three River's Press|year=1998|isbn=0-609-80311-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/seinfeldtotallyu00wild/page/107 107]|url=https://archive.org/details/seinfeldtotallyu00wild/page/107}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Singleton |first=Don |date=21 April 1996 |title=White Gave Rock Stoned-Out Hues |work=NY Daily News}}</ref>


White was executive director for the launch of the original [[TV Food Network]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=From Scratch; the Uncensored History of the Food Network|last=Salkin|first=Allen|publisher=|year=2014|isbn=978-0-399-15932-9|location=|pages=76, 82}}</ref> At the millennium, he became the senior executive in charge of production at [[Pseudo.com]]. Pseudo was a pioneer in streaming multi-channel programming on the internet.
White was executive director for the launch of the original [[TV Food Network]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=From Scratch; the Uncensored History of the Food Network|last=Salkin|first=Allen|year=2014|isbn=978-0-399-15932-9|pages=76, 82|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons }}</ref> At the millennium, he became the senior executive in charge of production at [[Pseudo.com]]. Pseudo was a pioneer in streaming multi-channel programming on the internet.


==Art==
==Art==
In 1996, White began a long collaborative relationship with the artist [[Michael Smith (performance artist)|Michael Smith]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Part Swan, Part Goose|last=Kurtz|first=Swoosie|publisher=|year=2014|isbn=978-0-399-16850-5|location=|pages=89,91–93,100–103|quote=|via=}}</ref> Over the next two decades, they produced five large scale projects beginning with the "Mus-co"<ref name=":3" /> exhibition at Lauren Wittels Gallery, "Open House" at the [[New Museum]] in 1999,<ref name=":3" /> "Quinquag: Arts and Wellness Center Traveling Exhibition" in 2001 and 2013,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/07/arts/art-in-review-michael-smith-and-joshua-white.html|title=Art In Review|last=Glueck|first=Grace|date=7 December 2001|work=New York Times|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> "Take Off Your Pants" in 2005 and "Mike's World: Michael Smith and Joshua White (and other collaborators) in 2007 and 2008.<ref name=":3" />
In 1996, White began a long collaborative relationship with the artist [[Michael Smith (performance artist)|Michael Smith]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Part Swan, Part Goose|last=Kurtz|first=Swoosie|year=2014|isbn=978-0-399-16850-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/partswanpartgoos0000kurt/page/89 89,91–93,100–103]|publisher=Penguin Publishing |url=https://archive.org/details/partswanpartgoos0000kurt/page/89}}</ref> Over the next two decades, they produced five large scale projects beginning with the "Mus-co"<ref name=":3" /> exhibition at Lauren Wittels Gallery, "Open House" at the [[New Museum]] in 1999,<ref name=":3" /> "Quinquag: Arts and Wellness Center Traveling Exhibition" in 2001 and 2013,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/07/arts/art-in-review-michael-smith-and-joshua-white.html|title=Art In Review|last=Glueck|first=Grace|date=7 December 2001|work=New York Times}}</ref> "Take Off Your Pants" in 2005 and "Mike's World: Michael Smith and Joshua White (and other collaborators) in 2007 and 2008.<ref name=":3" />


In 2002, White met the [[cartoonist]] and painter [[Gary Panter]], better known as the designer of ''[[The Pee-wee Herman Show]]''. They began collaborating on light shows, beginning the third incarnation of the Joshua Light Show, which continues to perform.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tate Etc. Summer of Love|last=O'Brien|first=Glenn|publisher=Tate|year=2005|isbn=|location=|pages=73}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/joshua-light-sh/|title=Joshua Light Show Getting Closer|last=Brooklyn Vegan Staff|first=|date=10 April 2010|website=Brooklyn Vegan|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> Beginning with a series of performances at the [[Anthology Film Archives]] in 2004,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms1rtOg8YSk|title=The Joshua Light & Gary Panter's Light Show|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> the Joshua Light Show performs at festivals, museums and venues such as the [[Skirball Center for the Performing Arts|Skirball Center]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=13 September 2012|title=Rolling Stone: Rock N Roll|url=|journal=Rolling Stone|volume=|pages=p 20}}</ref> [[Henry Street Settlement|Abrons Art Center]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ruscher|first=John|date=26 May 2010|title=Artists in Conversation: Music: Flashing Lights - The Joshua Light Show|url=|journal=Bomb Magazine|volume=|pages=}}</ref> the [[Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.knightfoundation.org/articles/joshua-white-and-gary-panters-light-show-at-mocad|title=JOSHUA WHITE AND GARY PANTER'S LIGHT SHOW AT MOCAD|last=|first=|date=9 March 2012|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> the [[Rose Center for Earth and Space|Hayden Planetarium]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=June 2011|title=Joshua Light Show at the Hayden Planetarium|url=|journal=Time Out New York|volume={{ISSN|1084-550X}}|pages=}}</ref> the [[Barbican Centre]], [[University of California, Davis|UC Davis]], and the [[Exploratorium|San Francisco Exploratorium]]. In 2007, the light show formed a relationship with composer and curator Nick Hallett. The Joshua Light Show has also been featured in museum exhibitions such as "Visual Music" at the [[Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden|Hirshhorn Museum]] in Washington DC and "The Summer of Love", originating at the [[Tate Liverpool]], then travelling to Frankfurt, Vienna and the [[Whitney Museum of American Art|Whitney Museum]] in 2008. The Joshua Light Show's "Liquid Loops" was recently included in the exhibition "60-'69” at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] and was acquired by the museum for their permanent collection.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/2113?locale=en|title=From the Collection|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} In 2014 White collaborated with the artist [[Guy Richards Smit]] to create the video/installation/performance project "The Grossmalerman Show.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.grossmalerman.com|title=Full Episodes|website=Grossmalerman|language=en-US|access-date=2017-08-08}}</ref>"
In 2002, White met the [[cartoonist]] and painter [[Gary Panter]], better known as the designer of ''[[The Pee-wee Herman Show]]''. They began collaborating on light shows, beginning the third incarnation of the Joshua Light Show, which continues to perform.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tate Etc. Summer of Love|last=O'Brien|first=Glenn|publisher=Tate|year=2005|pages=73}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/joshua-light-sh/|title=Joshua Light Show Getting Closer|last=Brooklyn Vegan Staff|date=10 April 2010|website=Brooklyn Vegan}}</ref> Beginning with a series of performances at the [[Anthology Film Archives]] in 2004,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms1rtOg8YSk|title=The Joshua Light & Gary Panter's Light Show|website=[[YouTube]] |date=8 March 2008 }}</ref> the Joshua Light Show performs at festivals, museums and venues such as the [[Skirball Center for the Performing Arts|Skirball Center]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=13 September 2012 |title=Rolling Stone: Rock N Roll |pages=20 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> [[Henry Street Settlement|Abrons Art Center]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Ruscher |first=John |date=26 May 2010 |title=Artists in Conversation: Music: Flashing Lights - The Joshua Light Show |journal=Bomb Magazine}}</ref> the [[Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.knightfoundation.org/articles/joshua-white-and-gary-panters-light-show-at-mocad|title=JOSHUA WHITE AND GARY PANTER'S LIGHT SHOW AT MOCAD|date=9 March 2012}}</ref> the [[Rose Center for Earth and Space|Hayden Planetarium]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=June 2011 |title=Joshua Light Show at the Hayden Planetarium |issn=1084-550X |journal=Time Out New York}}</ref> the [[Barbican Centre]], [[University of California, Davis|UC Davis]], and the [[Exploratorium|San Francisco Exploratorium]]. In 2007, the light show formed a relationship with composer and curator [[Nick Hallett (composer)|Nick Hallett]]. The Joshua Light Show has also been featured in museum exhibitions such as "Visual Music" at the [[Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden|Hirshhorn Museum]] in Washington DC and "The Summer of Love", originating at the [[Tate Liverpool]], then travelling to Frankfurt, Vienna and the [[Whitney Museum of American Art|Whitney Museum]] in 2008. The Joshua Light Show's "Liquid Loops" was recently included in the exhibition "60-'69” at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] and was acquired by the museum for their permanent collection.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/2113?locale=en|title=From the Collection}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} In 2014 White collaborated with the artist [[Guy Richards Smit]] to create the video/installation/performance project "The Grossmalerman Show.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.grossmalerman.com|title=Full Episodes|website=Grossmalerman|language=en-US|access-date=2017-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131042822/http://www.grossmalerman.com/|archive-date=2016-01-31|url-status=dead}}</ref>" In 2018 White was commissioned by Yale University to create a film about modern work inspired by Thomas Wilfred's Lumia Machine. White created the light show for the traveling museum installation BILL GRAHAM and the Rock 'n Roll Revolution. In 2019 White produced special psychedelic material for the rock band [[Metallica]] with the [[San Francisco Symphony|San Francisco Symphony Orchestra]] conducted by [[Michael Tilson Thomas]].


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
White has two sisters, actress Deborah White and Dr. Rebecca Mercer-White. From 1964 to 1970 Joshua White was romantically involved with the actress [[Swoosie Kurtz]].<ref name=":3" />
White has two sisters, actress Deborah White and Dr. Rebecca Mercer-White. From 1964 to 1970, White was in a relationship with the actress [[Swoosie Kurtz]].<ref name=":3" />

In 1975, White met and later married his wife of thirty-five years, Broadway actress and singer [[Alice Playten]]. In 2011, Alice died of [[pancreatic cancer]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/arts/alice-playten-actress-of-small-frame-big-voice-dies-at-63.html|title=Alice Playten Obituary|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
In 1975, White met Broadway actress and singer [[Alice Playten]]. They were married until Playten's death in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/arts/alice-playten-actress-of-small-frame-big-voice-dies-at-63.html|title=Alice Playten Obituary|work=The New York Times |date=27 June 2011 |last1=Holden |first1=Stephen }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Joshua (artist)}}
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[[Category:American artists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:American directors]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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[[Category:20th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male artists]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:Artists from New York City]]
[[Category:Artists from New York City]]
[[Category:Carnegie Mellon University alumni]]
[[Category:Carnegie Mellon University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Southern California alumni]]

Latest revision as of 07:12, 20 November 2024

Joshua White
BornDecember 1942 (age 81–82)
New York, U.S.
EducationCarnegie Tech
USC Film School
Known forJoshua Light Show

Joshua White (born 1942) is an American artist, video maker and broadcast television director. Best known for The Joshua Light Show,[1] a 1960s and 1970s liquid light show, his work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art[2] in New York and has been exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, the New Museum, the Hayden Planetarium, the Barbican Center in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, The Broad Museum in Los Angeles, and the New-York Historical Society as well as many other venues.

Early life and education

[edit]

Born in December 1942, Joshua White's parents were first-generation American Jews whose families fled Russia to escape the Czarist pogroms. His father, Lawrence White (né Weiss) was a successful radio and television producer.[3] [citation needed] White attended Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York's Greenwich Village, a haven for left wing intellectuals during the time of McCarthyism.[4][5] White often spent afternoons at the MoMA, where he became particularly fascinated by a small kinetic sculpture titled Vertical Sequence II, Opus 137, 1941, a "Lumia" by the self-taught artist Thomas Wilfred (1889-1968).[6][7][8]

After attending Carnegie Tech Drama School and USC Film School, White returned to New York, where he found work on exploitation films such as Girl on a Chain Gang,[9] I was a Teenage Mother[10] and Who Killed Teddy Bear?, starring Sal Mineo.

Early work

[edit]

In 1965, White apprenticed himself to the multi-media artist Bobb Goldsteinn, who presented a weekly series of downtown loft parties[11] featuring lights, a mirror ball, slides and films all projected on multiple screens. In 1966, White formed a company with Kip Cohen, John Morris, Thomas Shoesmith and William Schwarzbach called "Sensefex".[11][12] In addition to discotheques, they designed industrial shows for Dupont, IBM, and Time-Life, and a fashion show for dress designer Tiger Morse,[13] staged in the swimming pool of the Henry Hudson Hotel.

In 1967, Sensefex was hired by the promoter Bill Graham for his new East Coast presentation "The San Francisco Scene", to be staged in Toronto and featuring Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.[14] White was exposed for the first time to what was going on in San Francisco; one attraction in particular was Jerry Abrams & Glenn McKay's "Headlights", a Bay Area light show. Afterwards, Sensefex became solely focused on creating and performing light shows.[15][16]

Joshua Light Show

[edit]

Later that year White founded the Joshua Light Show (JLS). The first week of bookings was in a theater on Long Island behind Frank Zappa, Vanilla Fudge, Ravi Shankar and others.[17] By 1968 the Joshua Light Show was backing all the artists at Crawdaddy magazine's[17] weekend shows at the Anderson Theater (66 2nd Avenue). Impressed by the success of those shows, Bill Graham opened his own theater two blocks away.[6] On March 28, 1968, the Fillmore East opened with Albert King, Tim Buckley, Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, and at every show, The Joshua Light Show.[6][18][12][19][20][17][14]

The JLS has also provided visual backgrounds for the Grateful Dead, the Who, Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, Lou Reed, and Television and others. The light show appeared on the back cover of Jimi Hendrix's album Band of Gypsies and the front cover of Iron Butterfly's album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.[21]

That same year, John Schlesinger started production on Midnight Cowboy. For a key party scene, he wanted a Warhol's Factory type party and hired the Joshua Light Show to create the environment.[22][23][24]

After touring Europe with The Chambers Brothers in the summer of 1969, the Joshua Light Show performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, Fillmore at Tanglewood, and the Woodstock Music and Art Fair.[25][26][27] The Joshua Light Show continued at the Fillmore, including the Jimi Hendrix New Year's Eve 1969-70 performance.[28] Meanwhile, White was negotiating his exit. Three years after the Fillmore first opened its doors, the light show changed its name to Joe's Lights, and White moved on.[7]

Joshua Television

[edit]

In 1970 White invented Joshua Television, an electronic light show using large screen video magnification.[29] Along with White's partner Lee Erdman and director Lynn Goldsmith, Joshua Television provided big screen projections for many acts at Madison Square Garden, LA Forum, Hollywood Bowl, and The Spectrum in Philadelphia, and several shows for the Fillmore at Tanglewood for acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead.[26][30][31] Often, these concerts were videotaped. Network television discovered rock and roll, first with ABC's Shindig in 1962, and in 1971, ABC started a late night rock series called In Concert. It been created by Don Kirshner. However, after the first episode with Alice Cooper,[32] ABC brought in David Sontag to take over the show and executive produce. He hired Joshua White to direct. Sontag left after the first season in 1971 to produce a movie he had written. Don Kirshner launched his version of In Concert on ABC, produced by Kirshner in 1972, then Dick Clark and later by White himself.

In addition to rock television, White staged the first rock concert at Radio City Music Hall.[33] He created the analog projection for the Broadway show The Night That Made America Famous starring Harry Chapin.[34] He also directed for television the National Theater of the Deaf's version of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales,[35] narrated by Sir Michael Redgrave, and a special with Alvin Ailey celebrating the music of Duke Ellington.[36][37] Both shows were nominated for Emmy Awards. White was also nominated for an Emmy for Cat Stevens' Moon & Star, A Late Night Special on ABC.[citation needed]

Broadcast television

[edit]

Between 1974 and 2006, White directed a wide range of broadcast and cable television: The California Jam,[32] Neil Diamond Live in Australia,[38] The Mickey Mouse Club,[39] the Jerry Lewis Telethon,[40] Delta House,[41][42] Pirates of Penzance Live in Central Park,[43] Laurie Anderson's Oh Superman,[44][45] Max Headroom, Encyclopedia for HBO, Club MTV, Inside the Actors Studio and Seinfeld.[46][47]

White was executive director for the launch of the original TV Food Network[48] At the millennium, he became the senior executive in charge of production at Pseudo.com. Pseudo was a pioneer in streaming multi-channel programming on the internet.

Art

[edit]

In 1996, White began a long collaborative relationship with the artist Michael Smith.[49] Over the next two decades, they produced five large scale projects beginning with the "Mus-co"[49] exhibition at Lauren Wittels Gallery, "Open House" at the New Museum in 1999,[49] "Quinquag: Arts and Wellness Center Traveling Exhibition" in 2001 and 2013,[50] "Take Off Your Pants" in 2005 and "Mike's World: Michael Smith and Joshua White (and other collaborators) in 2007 and 2008.[49]

In 2002, White met the cartoonist and painter Gary Panter, better known as the designer of The Pee-wee Herman Show. They began collaborating on light shows, beginning the third incarnation of the Joshua Light Show, which continues to perform.[51][52] Beginning with a series of performances at the Anthology Film Archives in 2004,[53] the Joshua Light Show performs at festivals, museums and venues such as the Skirball Center,[54] Abrons Art Center,[55] the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit,[56] the Hayden Planetarium,[57] the Barbican Centre, UC Davis, and the San Francisco Exploratorium. In 2007, the light show formed a relationship with composer and curator Nick Hallett. The Joshua Light Show has also been featured in museum exhibitions such as "Visual Music" at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC and "The Summer of Love", originating at the Tate Liverpool, then travelling to Frankfurt, Vienna and the Whitney Museum in 2008. The Joshua Light Show's "Liquid Loops" was recently included in the exhibition "60-'69” at the Museum of Modern Art and was acquired by the museum for their permanent collection.[58][citation needed] In 2014 White collaborated with the artist Guy Richards Smit to create the video/installation/performance project "The Grossmalerman Show.[59]" In 2018 White was commissioned by Yale University to create a film about modern work inspired by Thomas Wilfred's Lumia Machine. White created the light show for the traveling museum installation BILL GRAHAM and the Rock 'n Roll Revolution. In 2019 White produced special psychedelic material for the rock band Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

Personal life

[edit]

White has two sisters, actress Deborah White and Dr. Rebecca Mercer-White. From 1964 to 1970, White was in a relationship with the actress Swoosie Kurtz.[49]

In 1975, White met Broadway actress and singer Alice Playten. They were married until Playten's death in 2011.[60]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Farberman, Brad (2017-09-07). "Inside Joshua Light Show's 50-Year Quest to Make Rock & Roll Visual". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  2. ^ "Special Gallery Session with Light Show Designer Joshua". www.moma.org. Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Lawrence White". IMDb.
  4. ^ McMillan, John (27 January 2003). "Why is the Weather Underground Still Making News". Washington Post.
  5. ^ Radosh, Ronald (2001). Commies; A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left and the Left Left. Encounter. pp. 25. ISBN 978-1893554054.
  6. ^ a b c Robert Greenfield, Bill Graham (1992). Bill Graham Presents. Doubleday. pp. 226–233. ISBN 0-385-240-77-5.
  7. ^ a b Kostelanetz, Richard (2000). Dictionary of the Avante-Gardes. Schirmer Books. pp. 322. ISBN 0-02865-379-3.
  8. ^ Zinman, Gregory (June 27, 2011). "Lumia". New Yorker.
  9. ^ "Girl On A Chain Gang". IMDb.
  10. ^ "I Was A Teenage Mother". IMDb.
  11. ^ a b Kostelanetz, Richard (1995). The Fillmore East, Recollections of Rock Theater. Schirmer Books. pp. Chapter 2. ISBN 0-02-871-847-X.
  12. ^ a b James L. Moody, Paul Dexter (2017). Concert Lighting, the Art and Business of Entertainment Lighting. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-315-62781-6.
  13. ^ Warhol, Andy (2006). Popism. Harcourt. p. 65.
  14. ^ a b Rothschild, Amalie R. (1999). Live at the Fillmore East. Da Capo Press. pp. 22–33. ISBN 1-56025-244-8.
  15. ^ Simms, Judith (8 August 1987). "1967, the Summer of Love". Los Angeles Times.
  16. ^ Brightman, Carol (1999). Sweet Chaos; The Grateful Dead's American Adventure. Simon and Schuster. p. 92. ISBN 0-671-01117-0.
  17. ^ a b c Glatt, John (1993). Rage & Roll, Billy Graham and the Selling of Rock. Carol Publishing. pp. 81, 89, 137. ISBN 1-55972-205-3.
  18. ^ Pouncey, Edwin (1999). "Light Laboratories". Frieze Magazine. pp. 56–59.
  19. ^ Gordon, Alastair (2008). Spaced Out, Radical Environments of the Psychedelic Sixties. Carol Publishing. pp. 50. ISBN 978-1-55972-205-6.
  20. ^ Calhoun, Ada (2016). St. Marks Is Dead. National Geographic Books. pp. 135, 155, 172, 178, 189, 181, 196. ISBN 978-0-393-240-38-2.
  21. ^ Farberman, Brad (2017-09-07). "Inside Joshua Light Show's 50-Year Quest to Make Rock & Roll Visual". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  22. ^ Isaacson, David (August 31, 1968). "Lights Shows". Amusement Business. p. 27.
  23. ^ "The Joshua Light Show Group". Entertainment Design. 35 Year Anniversary: 30. July 2002.
  24. ^ "Midnight Cowboy Party Scene". YouTube. 19 October 2015.
  25. ^ Fornatele, Pete (2009). Back to the Garden (the Story of Woodstock). Simon and Schuster. pp. 30, 31. ISBN 978-1-4165-9119-1.
  26. ^ a b "Bach to Hard Rock". National Geographic. August 1970. p. 215.
  27. ^ Wilson, John S. (July 5, 1969). "34,000 Hear Rock at Newport Fete". Woodstockwhisperer.info.
  28. ^ Shadwick, Keith (2003). Jimi Hendrix: Musician. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-879-30764-6.
  29. ^ Ross, Lillian (1971). "Video Magnifier". New Yorker.
  30. ^ "Videomagnifier". The New Yorker: Talk of the Town. 28 August 1971. p. 19.
  31. ^ "David On Stage!". 16 Magazine. July 1972. p. 20.
  32. ^ a b Stein, Kathi (September 1974). "TV Rock: the Inside Story With Deep Purple and Black Sabbath". Circus Raves. p. 44.
  33. ^ "Village Voice". February 13, 1973.
  34. ^ Barnes, Clive (February 27, 1975). "Harry Chapin Brings Songs to Broadway". New York Times. p. 30.
  35. ^ "A Childs Christmas in Wales". IMDb.
  36. ^ Gardella, Kay (26 November 1974). "'Crusoe' & Ailey Ballet Hold Lure for the Young". New York Daily News.
  37. ^ O'Conner, John. "TV: Holiday Specials From Splendid to Poor".
  38. ^ (2008).Neil Diamond: Thank You Australia Live-1976.DVD.ASIN B001TLRVS
  39. ^ Armstrong, Jennifer (2010). Why? Because We Like You: An Oral History of then Mickey Mouse Club. Hachette+ORM. ISBN 978-0-446-57434-1.
  40. ^ "Jerry!". Spy Magazine. Vol. 6, no. 7. May 1992. p. 44.
  41. ^ Stein, Ellin (2013). That's Not Funny, That's Sick: The National Lampoon and the comedy insurgents who captured the mainstream. Hachette+ORM. pp. 364, 365. ISBN 978-0-446-57434-1.
  42. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots, and Specials 1974-1984. VNR AG. p. 110. ISBN 0-918432-61-8.
  43. ^ Gilbert and Sullivan Broadway Theater Archive: The Pirates of Penzance.DVD.ASIN B00006RCMW
  44. ^ "Department of Film: Performance V of Performance Video". MoMA Guide. 7 September 1982.
  45. ^ "Goings On About the Town: Night Life". The New Yorker. 9 April 2007.
  46. ^ Wild, David (1998). The Totally Unauthorized Tribute (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That). Three River's Press. pp. 107. ISBN 0-609-80311-5.
  47. ^ Singleton, Don (21 April 1996). "White Gave Rock Stoned-Out Hues". NY Daily News.
  48. ^ Salkin, Allen (2014). From Scratch; the Uncensored History of the Food Network. G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 76, 82. ISBN 978-0-399-15932-9.
  49. ^ a b c d e Kurtz, Swoosie (2014). Part Swan, Part Goose. Penguin Publishing. pp. 89, 91–93, 100–103. ISBN 978-0-399-16850-5.
  50. ^ Glueck, Grace (7 December 2001). "Art In Review". New York Times.
  51. ^ O'Brien, Glenn (2005). Tate Etc. Summer of Love. Tate. p. 73.
  52. ^ Brooklyn Vegan Staff (10 April 2010). "Joshua Light Show Getting Closer". Brooklyn Vegan.
  53. ^ "The Joshua Light & Gary Panter's Light Show". YouTube. 8 March 2008.
  54. ^ "Rolling Stone: Rock N Roll". Rolling Stone. 13 September 2012. p. 20.
  55. ^ Ruscher, John (26 May 2010). "Artists in Conversation: Music: Flashing Lights - The Joshua Light Show". Bomb Magazine.
  56. ^ "JOSHUA WHITE AND GARY PANTER'S LIGHT SHOW AT MOCAD". 9 March 2012.
  57. ^ "Joshua Light Show at the Hayden Planetarium". Time Out New York. June 2011. ISSN 1084-550X.
  58. ^ "From the Collection".
  59. ^ "Full Episodes". Grossmalerman. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
  60. ^ Holden, Stephen (27 June 2011). "Alice Playten Obituary". The New York Times.
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