The Narrative Painting of Wayne Miller
Artistic narratives are conceived, born and bred in the interior sanctuary of the artist ...
"... a footprint, a hat, a censored face, a solar eclipse, a few spoken words of one language or another, or the simple act of breathing." - Wayne Miller
All subject matter in painting is, in some form, narrative -- if the viewer is after a story, they will surely find it. Instead, a more precise inquiry may well be, "Whose story is it?" Ideally, the stories belong to us all.
Artistic narratives are conceived, born and bred in the interior sanctuary of the artist. Once framed and on display, those narratives enter the inner sanctum of the "other" where, if resonant with the viewer, they will adopt myriad new characteristics, all in furtherance of the original narrative. It all depends on who is looking, what do they see, how do they feel about it, and what does it all remind them of.
Unfortunately, the prevailing understanding of narrative art would indicate that the visual representation sacrifices coherence when the imagery fails to follow a continuum of events. That’s fine if film is the art form under discussion, however, two- and three-dimensional artworks carry an extra burden toward coherence. In contrast to the idea of “scripted” sequencing of images, Wayne Miller’s symbolic imagery uniquely reveals the underlying narrative while his process remains unconstrained by ordinary limits of movement and time. What remains is a distinctive, precise detail of a memory held dear to the artist himself. This is an important consideration. In fact, to impose a sequential narrative would undermine, or at least stymie, that process. Miller states, "I want to avoid explaining what the paintings "mean" whenever possible." In other words, meaning-making is and must remain an inner, subjective experience for all parties -- the artist and those who would view their work and be moved by it.
Wayne Miller's compositions initially appear quite humble, portraying single or few images, a mere ghost of the underlying tale. At closer inspection, there are, in fact, multiple actions taking place, some below the surface, others floating above.
Once revealed, the complexity of the composition becomes central to the event and its narrative foundation. Of significant importance to Miller's narratives is his distinctive lexicon of imagery, uniquely introspective painting technique and appreciation for all associated culture, philosophy and social tension.
A Moment in the Showa Era, Version 6 - 80x68
Miller's Narratives
Each series begins as an attempt to paint something intangible. In the Lily
Cheung series the intangible is hope. In David Minors it’s superstition.
Reflections in a Western Mirror is about friendship. Hotel Aroma revolves around loss and the Spanish Mirror pieces are ways of painting memory.
Letters from the Hotel Aroma: Version 21 - 82x65
Narratives that Endure: An Intuitive Marker of Time
As stated above, Wayne Miller works outside the limits of movement, space and time. Never a series of repeating images, his process utilizes a collection of symbolic representations that portray the event itself, the passage of time and his own relationship to it. And, they endure. To wit, Miller states, "There are individual paintings from each series that actually seem as if they were painted by someone else, as though I’m seeing them for the very first time."
One of the Reasons for the Death of David Minors: Version 34 - 71x47
The Iconic Symbolism of Text
Many of Miller's paintings contain text, both as a pictorial and narrative image. He states that this is much the same as in a Persian miniature, a Japanese ehon page or an American comic. But, consider this unique twist: at times the text is an actual story, at times it is a collection of visual images, at times it simply records shards of lives.
The Ascension of Lily Cheung
Endless Hope ...
Each of Wayne Miller's gorgeously enigmatic series, many of which began decades ago, teem with evocative symbolism, strong color and compositional detail, and yield the impression of weightlessness, timelessness and hope. Hope that endures as long as his story continues, until this extraordinary painter lays down his brush and thus, the telling becomes our own.
The Artist Wayne Miller, Barnstable Village, Cape Cod. Photograph by Frank Winters.
