John Waters

(American, born 1946)

John Waters is an American artist best known for his satirical and raunchy movies. Also a visual artist, Waters’ photography, sculpture, and installations pieces humorously recontextualize art and popular culture. Born on April 22, 1946 in Baltimore, MD, Waters briefly attended NYU for film but was kicked out for what he claims was the “first ever marijuana scandal on a university campus.” Waters then returned to Baltimore in 1966 where he began collaborating on films with his longtime friend and muse Glenn Milstead, also known as Divine. He gained a cult following in the 1970s with his transgressive films Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974), as well as the box office hit Hairspray (1988). “Hairspray is the only really devious movie I ever made,” the filmmaker stated. “The musical based on it is now being performed in practically every high school in America – and nobody seems to notice it’s a show with two men singing a love song to each other that also encourages white teen girls to date black guys.” In the early 1990s Waters began creating photography based work and installations. The artist’s 2015 commencement speech for the Rhode Island School of Design was turned into the book Make Trouble. His works are in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the New Museum in New York, among others. Waters lives and works in Baltimore, MD.