As FANGORIA’s crazy, obsessive The X-Files fan, when I was offered the chance to check out an art exhibit with X-Files creator Chris Carter’s name attached to it, I didn’t hesitate to accept. I had no idea what to expect.
When I walked into the art gallery in Downtown Los Angeles, it definitely wasn’t X-Filesy. The first piece I noticed was a pink Hello Kitty screen print with “My Crowning Achievement” written in gold leaf and hovering about the little cats. Carter refused to explain what it meant, saying he didn’t think art should be explained. “I think art should be personal, it should reflect the artist.”
One thing that he was willing to give me a little bit of insight on were his pieces “Manic” and “Xanax,” enormous photo collages of a tree. On the “Manic” side, the pictures are done in a host of loud, anxiety-inducing colors; on the “Xanax” side, the colors are normal, calm, peaceful. “That was a view I had for many years. And that was the only tree that obstructed an otherwise perfect view,” he tells me ruefully.
“That this show is actually being seen by the public is completely unexpected to me. I did all of this work for me. It existed in my office for over a decade,” Carter says. Life-long friend Jim Carter (no relation) wanted to display his work in his gallery, Legacy West Media, and Chris agreed.
Carter says his artwork is for sale, “but they are all extremely personal to me. That’s a weird thing for me: I’m selling a piece of my personal history. It’s interesting to me that people will have something of me that they’ll wonder about.” His history is displayed throughout the exhibit, from his “Hate Plates,” potted dishes with angry words written on them (representing his time as a production potter in college), to surfboards with messages lacquered onto them (representing his time working at Surfer Magazine and his lifelong passion for surfing).
Of course, I had to bring up The X-Files. There are a couple of X-Files-related pieces in the collection. “I didn’t really want to do X-Files-related things necessarily, but a few things just came out and those things were a surprise to me. But there are only a couple.” One of the strangest pieces is a framed photo of Ronald Reagan that is signed “To Chris Carter, the truth is out there.” “I didn’t even vote for him!” Carter says with a laugh.
A small collection of X-Files props from Chris Carter’s personal collection (that he didn’t donate to The X-Files Preservation Collection) almost seems to be there to entice X-Files fans into checking out the collection. An alien mask, a Mr. Chuckleteeth maquette, and a couple of magazine covers are included.
The most intriguing piece is a note from the casting sessions of various actors for the roles of Mulder and Scully. Next to David Duchovny’s name, there is simply a “Yes.” Next to Gillian Anderson, it says “Test.” They are the only two actors with such definitive notes next to their names. The paper is signed by Gillian Anderson, with the message “Chris—9 years later… you’re my hero.”
Besides the art, Carter admits he is working on two other projects but refuses to go into details about them. “Everyone wanted another X-Files, and I didn’t want to do that. Between The X-Files and Millennium, I have done 300 episodes of sci-fi. I’m choosing to do other stuff. And surfing.”
The exhibit runs February 27 through March 10 at Legacy West Media Gallery in Los Angeles. For more information, visit the official LWM website.
