Chrissie White, Color Blind, 2008
I think it goes without saying that the art world’s obsession with youth is a potentially dangerous and harmful thing. With that little preamble out of the way: lately I have been consistently blown away by Jane Aldridge, of the fashion blog Sea of Shoes, who is sixteen yet ridiculously evolved and sophisticated in her taste—which comes across not only in her clothes, but in her writing and general sense of aesthetics. Then I came across this article by Regina Hackett, about Chrissie White, a fifteen year old photographer, some of whose shots are simply phenomenal—in execution, composition, design, and concept.
I’m probably doing these girls a disservice by highlighting their youth—because I geniunely think that what they produce is remarkable regardless of their ages. I’ll be the first to admit that some of my fascination is borne from jealousy—I’m nearly a decade older and have yet to develop any talent as fully as they have theirs. I’m also fascinated with how at such a young age they’ve managed to develop the confidence and awareness that is portrayed in their work. That is, not only was I not self assured enough at their age to put out the sort of craziness that they do (like most sixteen year olds, my creativity was stifled by my fear of peer-rejection), but I also didn’t have the same comprehensive knowledge of art and culture that they reference in their work. So I wonder how much something like the internet has played a part in their artistic development—because neither of them have grown up in big cities where such inspiration might be more readily accessible. Or maybe it’s just that these sort of child-geniuses (I belive prodigy is the word?) have always existed and the internet is giving them earlier and wider exposure.
image via Chrissie White’s Flickr
