12/4/2008
This Friday, December 5, 2008, the Romaine Brooks Gallery presents its featured artist for December, Kevin Miller, and his photography exhibit ‘Perception’ as part of the 1st Friday Albany events. Kevin is an amazing photographer, far better than myself in fact, and his work is something to be seen. Be sure to stop by the Gallery at the Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Center at 332 Hudson Avenue, Albany, NY 12210 from 5 to 9 PM this Friday!
Photo courtesy of Kevin Miller
Artist Profile: Kevin Miller
Romaine Brooks Gallery: December 2008
By Alan Bennett Ilagan
The man is naked. Rendered in black and white, lit softly from above, his body is flagrantly yet discreetly displayed - shadows distinguish his sculpted torso, the curves of his backside, and the sinewy play of his muscles. He stands hunched over a barrel. Bands of metal bind the wood, circling and holding it in place, as the man holds his pose, head down and face hidden. In another scene he is crouched down, his bare skin luminous against a dark background, and contrasting with the dim rough-hewn features of the barrel.
To some, it is a work of art, to others, a shameless ploy bordering on pornography. How can one person see beauty and magnificence in one work of art, while another finds it ugly and mean? One word: Perception.
As the title of Kevin Miller’s new show at the Romaine Brooks Gallery, ‘Perception’ works on a number of levels. It is at the core of any art exhibit. No matter how straight-forward or obvious a work may be, the perception is different for every individual. It’s what makes art such a personal experience. For Miller, his art is a way of presenting what he sees to the world.
“I look at most things in an artistic way and that is the way I have always been,” he says. “I guess this is one of the toughest things I have to deal with in the subject matter that I am currently involved with. I don’t look at the models in front of the camera as being a model or that I may be shooting someone in the nude, I look at them as a piece of art. I am constantly thinking about the best way to enhance and bring out the best features in the photo.”
Miller’s work, while sometimes overt, never veers towards the obscene. He is not out to shock or titillate, but at the same time he is not afraid of nudity or erotica. That said, Miller maintains a few rules, including no full-frontal shots for his shows.
“Although during a shoot I may take full frontal pictures for the models, if that is what they want, I personally do not show any frontal in my pictures,” he explains. “I just feel that this leaves a sense of curiosity in the pictures and I don’t really feel a need to have to show any more. It is always a fine line I have to walk between my pictures being received as an art form or crossing over into someone thinking it is pornography. I want my work to be both a piece of art and sensual at the same time.”
Like his photographs, in person Mr. Miller comes on in a rather quiet and unassuming manner. At first glance he is soft-spoken, reserved, some might say shy. Even with his crinkly-eyed ready smile, he never seems entirely at ease. Only after spending time with him does his strength and self-assurance come out. The smile belies the strength. The same is true of his artwork.
On the surface, Miller’s photography is polished and clean, with flattering light and contrasting darkness, but upon closer examination their artistry and composition reveal a sound and solid structure based on classic nude sculpture. These are landscapes of the body - topographical studies of the human form. Shadows play as important a role as the lighting in his work, revealing as they conceal, softening corners and blurring edges. It lends a desire to see more, drawing the viewer further into the scene, and begging to reveal more. It’s an effective technique, one that Miller honed through experience rather than formal schooling.
Miller asserts that, “All my photography skills are self taught either through trial and error or reading up on different techniques. Many times I search photography sites to get ideas of subject matters and composition and then try to figure out how the photographer was able to achieve the look. I am always looking for new and exciting ways to improve my shots.”
The most difficult part of taking photos is, oddly enough, not the technical aspect, but finding willing models. He readily admits, “The hardest part of the photography I do is finding people who will model for me. Once this is done I usually find out what the models are interested in and the types of photographs they want.”
As in much of art, interpretation is highly subjective, and Miller welcomes the varied takes on a single piece. Different readings of a photograph allow him to see different aspects of his own work, revealing things that might otherwise go unnoticed or overlooked. He is also open enough to go into his shoots without a definitive plan or vision.
“Most of the time when I begin a shoot, I have no image in mind when I begin. Each model is different, each setting is different and I feel that is what makes photography so exciting. There are times when I take a shot and I know just by looking in the viewfinder that I have just taken a great shot. Other times, though, I never realize it until I load it into the computer and add some special effects that the beauty comes through. Some photographers are totally against manipulating an image, but my feelings are that [the] human eye is limited in things that it can see. By adding special effects or changing a tone in a picture can bring out something that we would have never seen before.”
Such tweaking is the province of the artist, and the reactions to the finished works are the domain of the viewers. The opening of a show is the moment that creation, reaction, and perception collide, and Miller wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I feel the purpose of art is to allow us to look at things in this world through someone else’s eyes or perception,” he says. “So often we pass things by without really looking at the beauty in it. What is so nice about art is that you may look at something and see it in a totally different way than someone else. The hope I have for my own work is that those who are viewing it can see the beauty in the human body as an art form and not something to be ashamed of.”
To that end, Miller has already largely succeeded. Far from something scandalous, his work portrays the purity of the human figure, bringing an almost-spiritual aspect to his subjects and eliciting the intrinsic beauty of his models. Anyone can capture an image on a digital camera these days, it takes a true artist to transform that into something more.
———————————–
. . . ..
. . . . . .
