WHITENESS: PART ONE

A 360° video cantata that surrounds the viewer in a white void while a chorus of floating heads muse (in 4-40-part harmony) on privilege, appropriation, and the history (or plague) of “whiteness” in the U.S.A. Told through chants, rants, and micro-pop songs, Whiteness: Part One is a humorous self-interrogation of Paul Pinto’s maddening inner thoughts as a mixed-race American, visibly brown, and invisibly trying to not be so white. Pulling from US Census records as source material, Kameron collaborated with Paul as a director and video designer. Originally commissioned as a single-channel film for Prototype Festival in 2021, the project was adapted into a multi-channel video and audio installation where it was presented at CultureHub/La Mama in 2022. Whiteness: Part One received Opera America’s Excellence in Digital Opera Award. Whiteness: Part Two premiered on PBS as a part of ALL ART’s artist in residence program in 2023.