BIG EARS FESTIVAL

Wayne White: BIG WORDS

Thu   Mar   27   2025 - 9:00 AM The Emporium Fri   Mar   28   2025 - 9:00 AM The Emporium Sat   Mar   29   2025 - 9:00 AM The Emporium Sun   Mar   30   2025 - 9:00 AM The Emporium

“He is doing something no reasonable person would think doable: He is shoving humor — not that sly intellectual stuff, but bawdy Southern laughter — into the art world.” – Bitter Southerner

Born and raised in Chattanooga, Wayne White has used his memories of the South to create inspired works for film, television and the fine art world. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University, White traveled to New York City where he worked as an illustrator for the East Village Eye, The New York Times, Raw Magazine and The Village Voice. In 1986, he became an Emmy-winning designer for his work on the hit television show “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.” He has also worked in the music video industry, winning Billboard and MTV Music Video awards as an art director for seminal music videos, including the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight and Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time.”

For almost 40 years, White has been unleashing humor in all aspects of his career. His most successful artworks have been his word paintings, which feature oversized, three-dimensional text painstakingly integrated into vintage landscape reproductions. The message of the paintings is often thought-provoking and almost always humorous, with White commenting on vanity, ego and his memories of the South.

The Emporium Center

100 S. Gay Street

March 7th – 29th, 2025

BIG EARS
03.27_03.30.25
Knoxville, TN · USA

Festival

Explore the lineup of upcoming Big Ears performances.

Explore

Discover travel, lodging, & dining options to enhance your festival experience.

Support

Big Ears is made possible by the passion & generosity of our supporters.

About

Learn more about what The New York Times calls “one of the world’s greatest music bashes.”