(Cleveland, Ohio, 1955 - 2008, Cleveland, Ohio)
c. 2000
Oil on canvas
51 x 29 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (129.5 x 75.7 x 5.3 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of the Shirley H. Miller Trust
2013.43
Miller began his compositions without preconceived ideas, making up imagery as he painted. The results are dream-like, both quiet and soothing, or as is the case with this work, nightmarish. “I see myself as a voyager, bringing things back,” Miller said. “I see myself dealing with subconscious, enigmatic images that have no reference, like twilight images in your sleep.” Although he refused to title or provide explanations of his paintings, he believed they directly reflected his personality, and were therefore autobiographical. The artist repeated subject matter over his career, producing canvases of stylized mostly male figures, animals, and hybrid organisms fusing elements of plants and human bodies over backgrounds with decorative flourishes.