X-Files creator Chris Carter on the future (and his future) with the franchise, as well as his fine art career
Chris Carter discusses wanting to move away from X-Files to focus on projects with his wife, Dori Pierson.
On Saturday, February 24, The X-Files creator, writer, and producer Chris Carter opened his first contemporary art exhibition in Los Angeles, California: The Chris Carter Collection. Held at Legacy West Media Gallery through March 10, the mixed media art exhibit will surely draw a diverse crowd of art enthusiasts and pop culture aficionados.
Carter initially created his mixed media artworks purely for self-expression, and they were never intended for public consumption. "I never intended to sell them," said Carter. "I only did them because they came from my head and my heart."
Instead, he's previously preferred to display a few of his favorite pieces at his office, meanwhile gifting the rest to his inner circle (As I mingled at the February 24 private preview, a woman who worked on The X-Files proudly told me she had two Carter originals in her home).
However, when long-time family friend and gallery owner Jim Carter, son of two-time Academy Award-winning production designer Rick Carter (Avatar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), suggested to Chris that he display his art via a Los Angeles exhibition, the Emmy-nominated creator accepted the offer, culminating in the filmmaker's first official art show. The new The Chris Carter Collection is not to be confused with The X-Files Preservation Collection's The Chris Carter Collection in New York. According to Carter, he gave the museum in Saratoga Springs "almost everything," and if it were to burn down, "a lot of history to go with."
Although Carter politely chatted with each reporter about the future of X-Files (and X-Philes, you can read all the X-Citing news below), I got the sense as I wandered and observed throughout the event that he was ready to move on with his career. When asked about future artistic endeavors during a moderated panel discussion held at the event, Carter said, "Everyone wanted The X-Files again. They wanted sci-fi. I didn't want to do sci-fi. I still really don't, even though we did a reboot of the show. I would prefer to do something else. I can tell you that my wife and I have a fantastic idea right now."
At the show's opening reception, Carter's friends from entertainment were there to show their support. Adele Carter, a long-time friend, and Rick Carter's wife, said of the show, "My personal proclamation is I am thrilled to see this show because I think it is from your heart, and I've never seen anything like it, which I find is very like a stimulant to my brain cells and my being and that it opens my mind."
With the recent news that there will be a Ryan Coogler-helmed reboot of The X-Files and the franchise creator's first art show, Popverse spoke to Chris Carter about the future of The X-Files, artificial intelligence, and more.
Popverse: "The Chris Carter Collection" is three decades in the making. How did the exhibition finally come together?
Chris Carter: Jim Carter, the owner of this space, came to me about two months ago and said, "I want to do a show using your pieces." Now, he had seen my pieces before. He had actually taken them around the globe, which was exciting for me that people got to see them. I never imagined people would actually see this art, so sitting here and talking to you today in this gallery where people are looking at art that is so personal to me. Every piece represents part of my conscious life.
What was the inspiration behind the Hello Kitty piece?
I never tell people about my inspiration in any of these cases. I let them imagine. Did you like the piece?
Yes. I love Hello Kitty, and I've been learning about its place in Japanese culture and history.
Yeah, it's one of the few pieces with color; most of them are monotone.
What is your creative process? I'm gonna leave this question open-ended to cover all of your art.
I come up with an idea. Thinking about that, I think about the materials, the design, and then I work very carefully with a printer Toby Michel.
You once indicated that you hoped The X-Files franchise would continue with an animated spin-off. Is that still in the works? What's the relationship to the Ryan Coogler-helmed show?
I'm not supposed to talk about it. Wink wink. But yes, the Ryan Coogler thing, as far as I know, is going forward.
What can you say about The X-Files' future? What do you hope to see in the franchise's future?
David [Duchovny] and Gillian [Anderson] at the same time wanting to do it. I get that right now that it doesn't look that—Gillian, she's up and running with so many amazing things, as is David. But I would want to do it with my same crew that made the show what it is. I think that that would be a serious discussion.
So a toughie question then, will you add more women and non-binary individuals?
Yeah, I'm not against it. I just want to make the best show possible, first and foremost.
The X-Files has some of my favorite takes on the threat of artificial intelligence—from season 1's "Ghost in the Machine" to season 5's "Kill Switch" to season 11's "The Truth Is Out There" [translated from Base64, "Rm9sbG93ZXJz"]. As an artist and filmmaker, what is your take on AI here now in 2024?
I was having discussion about this with somebody that's a smart person, and he was saying to me how dangerous—he thought it would wipe us off the planet. I believe AI needs us, and it would be bored without us. That's not to say bad things wouldn't happen. I think there's the opportunity for bad things there, but AI will maybe continue to amuse itself.
So do you imagine it will be something more symbiotic with AI and humans?
Right now, that's what I'm imagining. I think many people would jump on me and beg to differ. There are people who believe that it will wipe us out. I hope it doesn't. I wish it would solve global warming. I wish it see that we need its help and behave accordingly.
Is "The X-Files Font" in the public domain?
Everyone uses that—it's a variation on typewriter.
You've also used acrylic lettering in your artwork, so can you tell me more about your lettering design process? How do you choose which fonts to use?
I worked for Surfing Magazine for five years, and one of the things I did was spec type. Do you know what that means? You have an endless number of choices. For example, take Helvetica; you have unschooled, cursive, italic, and all those things that you actually see on your computer, you get all those choices. I did that, literally for a living, it was my job. So I have a lot of experience choosing typestyles, and all of them are in the public domain.
Will there be more comics set in The X-Files universe? You're an artist, so what was your involvement in the process with the comics' publisher, IDW?
My involvement was only at the end of the process, not at the beginning. So I would call my involvement—well, I would call it appreciative, and possibly as the person who provided mindful and careful direction.
I try to downplay my involvement whenever I possibly can, you know? These people draw these comics, and they come up with the ideas for the story. All I do is encourage.
Is that because you're an artist you want to respect that art?
Absolutely. You know, they're comic book artists. I'm not.
