John M. White

John M. White (born May 10, 1937) is an American performance artist, sculptor, and painter. He is a significant figure in the development of California performance art in the 1960s.

Born in San Francisco, California, White entered the art scene later than most at the age of 25. His formal art education started in 1962, at the Patri School of Art Fundamentals—a small private school run by old Bauhaus follower Giacomo Patri.

The Patri School of Art Fundamentals was an intensive program that required the students to focus on one subject for the entire six-day school week, having them analyze, draw, paint, design, and sculpt the subject before moving on to another. This had a great impact on John M White’s multidisciplinary approach to his work. His first performances were accompanied by complex diagram-drawings, and such drawings have hung beside his work since (Frank). White has conceived of his installations as three-dimensional drawings, both for their formal reliance on line and for the improvisatory, "quick-sketch" manner of their creation. Whereas some drawings serve as scores or documents for live performances, virtually no drawing has served as a direct study or "floor plan" for an installation. (Frank)

White attended the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles from 1965 to 1969, where he earned both BFA and MFA by the age of 32. At Otis, he met Joan Hugo, who would later prove to be one of the influential people in his career. Hugo was the school’s librarian who also acted as an information resource passing magazines and books on contemporary developments to promising students and encouraging their independent research and discussion (Danieli). At her suggestion in 1969, White took part in the dance concerts of Yvonne Rainer and Glen Lewis at the LA Conservatory of Music and Steve Paxton at Ace Gallery. While participating in Paxton’s workshop, White developed what would later become one of his first public performance piece, "Paper and News", performed at University of California, San Diego in 1969. His first public performance piece was Dirt Event, held at Bronson Canyon in 1968.

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