Anthony White's Post-Valentine Mix
Welcome back to Post Up Radio, where we’re proud to bring you mixes by people who aren’t just musicians, DJs or music industry heads.
This week’s guest is Anthony White, a visual artist and curator based in Seattle who’s making some of the most exciting work in the game. The technique used to create his striking pieces, is a meticulous, time-consuming process of layering line after line of PLA plastic. He pulls from 90s, 00s, and current pop culture references in a way that’s sure to take you back to memories of renting DVDs at Blockbuster, playing SSX Tricky with the homies and reluctantly drinking cotton candy-flavored Pinnacle. He’s exhibited his work at galleries and art fairs across the world, and is represented by Greg Kucera Gallery. If you don’t have a chance to view his work in person, visit his website to check out Anthony’s full archive, although it’s really worth seeing up close.
Anthony White’s Post Valentine Mix is now live on Post Up Radio
Continue reading for our interview with Anthony, and a full track list for his mix.
A lot of your work has incredible pop culture references that only people from a certain age group will fully understand, what do you look for in these references? Where are you pulling these references from?
The iconography and pop symbols that I use are from very specific times in history, or from specific subcultures, genres, types, regions of people. When I use them in a portrait work specifically, it’s to help identify the subject in the work. It’s there to help build a visual representation of their past or that built their identity or characteristics that they live with today. Looking through my work, you can see my subjects are people who ride a skateboard, or listen to hip hop music, or used to play with Bratz dolls. They’re little symbols that I like to plug people in with, and often people go back in their own nostalgic thought process and can identify with it on their own. I use them to help put people in a mindset, finding familiarity with an object. If it was something that was controversial, or maybe they’ve had a relationship with that object previously, I try to give everyone an entry point.
If you could do the album art for any artist, who would it be?
Doing a Flying Lotus cover would be dope. His covers are pretty psychedelic, there’s a lot of color, a lot of objects. I practice some of those things in my own work, I could re-format just a bit of what I do to tweak it to their style, but I think it would be a pretty cool collaboration. Especially because I’m a huge fan of his, and have seen him live multiple times.
You’ve recently been very inspired by pole dancing, what got you into it? And also what are you favorite songs to dance to?
I’ve always had an interest in watching people defy gravity, and the physics of being on the pole. The movement is so whimsical and angelic, it’s just so impressive. I’ve always wanted to try to dance on one, or try to get myself up and float like the dancers do. During quarantine, I decided it was something I could practice while I was at home, so I bought one. It’s far more difficult than I thought it’d be, these professionals are hella strong, they could fight a whole gang by themselves. It’s an art form, it’s so graceful and you have to present that it’s effortless. That’s so hard to do because it takes concentration, strength, and it takes a TON of training. I practice almost every day, and the first thing I put on is Summer Walker vinyl. I mostly dance to vinyl so I can record myself with my phone at the same time. I also like dancing to Frank Ocean’s Blonde. Believe it or not, I also like dancing to BadBadNotGood’s IV. It’s a poetic, hopeless romantic album of flow, instrumentals, and tunes with soft voices.
What’s your go-to cocktail?
Gin and tonic. There’s something about the piney glass of liquid that makes me feel good.
Music to cook to: D'Angelo - Black Messiah
Music to drive to: Toro y Moi - Samantha
Music to work out to: Suuns - “2020”
Music for a cocktail hour: Dâm Funk - DJ-Kicks
Music that’s a guilty pleasure: 100 Gecs - 1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues
Music to Post Up to: Silk Rhodes - Silk Rhodes
Anthony White’s Post-Valentine Mix Track List:
Death Grips - Hunger Games
SBTRKT & Ezra Koenig - NEW DORP. NEW YORK
Walker & Royce feat. Sophiegrophy - My Own Thang
BJ The Chicago Kid feat. Buddy, JID & Kent Jamz - Get Away
Justin Bieber & Drake - Right Here
Lil’ Flip feat. Lea - Sunshine
Summer Walker & 6LACK - Like It
645AR & FKA twigs - Sum Bout U
Cookie Kawaii - Vibe (If I Back It Up)
Wolfgang Tillmans - Device Control
SOPHIE - Whole New World (Big Kiss Remix)
Toro Y Moi feat. Rome Fortune - Benjiminz
TiRon & Ayomari - It's a Trip
Drake - Teenage Fever
Gary Clark Jr. - Things Are Changin' (Solo Acoustic, Live)
Anthony’s Grandmother’s Interlude
Summer Walker - Deep
Childish Gambino - Worldstar
William Crooks & Aaron Cartier - hands!
montell2099 - raindrop2099
COBRAH - TEA
Oshun - Blessings On Blessings
Guapdad 4000 - Platinum Falcon
SOPHIE - Immaterial
You can view Anthony’s work on his website, and he can be found on Instagram