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ANGELS AND DEMONS
"Lord Love You" at the Lyndon House: Ever
wondered what happens when a Klansman
goes to hell? Or what a sneaky church-going
devil might look like? Georgia folk artist R.A.
Miller did. Organized by the temporarily
closed Georgia Museum of Art and on view at
the Lyndon House Arts Center, "Lord Love You"
is a sampling of 83 works from Miller's prolific
output. The work probably came from his clut
tered yard in nearby Rabbittown, which he
began to fill with art in the 1970s. The setting
of filmmaker Jim Herbert's video for R.E.M.'s
Left of Reckoning video in 1984, Miller's
yard was filled with whirligigs, cutouts and
paintings—a project he began in his 70s after
a lifetime of working in cotton mills and as an
itinerant Free Will Baptist preacher.
Having spent some time under the tute
lage of Baptists, I immediately felt in familiar
company with the good-is-good, bad-is-bad,
and more times than not, good-is-actually-
bad-too rhetoric of Miller's universe of angels
and demons. And appropriately, I was immedi
ately drawn to the corner with all the devils.
They range from the pot-smoking variety to
the aforementioned torturer of Klansmen, and
let me tell you: it doesn't look good for that
Klansman. Squished together onto a long, thin
sheet of tin that towers above your typical
gallery-goer, the devil looks like he's taking
his time sticking a tiny pitchfork into the
Klansman's torso. Even better is Miller's "Fat
Devils," a rusted-over segment of an old bill
board for Birele/s soda. Overlapped onto the
once-bright colors and advertising promises
(like the non-carbonated soda's guarantee
of "not a bubble in a bottle") are the black,
almost faceless shapes of quite evil-looking
devils. Of course, there are a few angels in
this exhibition, too. They have spotted wings
and inhabit pretty little gardens and the like,
but I think it's fair to assume that Miller had a
lot more fun wonying about those devils. Oh,
yeah, there's a seven-headed beast, too.
Miller's work does extend well beyond
the fire and brimstone of the unseen wortd.
His 'Blow Oskar" character—based on a real
person—sports a patriotic Uncle Sam outfit
and appears repeatedly. Speaking of patrio
tism, "This Flag Won't Burn" is a tin-and-
enamel remake of our national flag that is at
least a lot harder to burn than cloth. I think
there's a comparison to be made to proto-pop
master Jasper John's iconic "Rag," and I think
it has to do with the blatant, self-assured
materiality of Miller's flag and an American
brand of machismo that puts the Ab Ex-ers
to shame. But apples and oranges are, at the
end of the day, apples and oranges. Culling
from popular culture, he also created a disap
pointing diminutive "Bigfoot" and a near-
monolithic Coca-Cola bottle that might just be
the perfect antithesis to Andy Warhol's half-
disenchanted homage to repetition via the
ever-ubiquitous presence of Coke.
Like his folk-art peers, take
the reclusive St. EOM's Pasaquan,
for example, Miller's art never was
intended for the cool, air-condi
tioned environs of a gallery or the
tactfully spell-corrected labels of a
museum. Our appreciation of Miller's
art, part of the rise in popularity
of folk art over the last couple of
decades, is just another example of
a cultural desire for the exotic, the
authentic, blah, blah, blah. It's an
art form ripe for exploitation, and
our collective appreciation of it is
worth thinking about. But when it
comes to Miller, I think it's safe to
wager that we're dealing with the
real thing.
Subtrop Pop: Also at the Lyndon
House is a "Surrealist Tropical Pop
Exhibition," a duel of sorts that pits
Carlos Solis' Dali-Magritte-style
canvases (see this issue's cover)
against Stanley Bermudez's Day-
Glo rainbow of politically charged
paintings. While there is a corner
in which Solis' "False Revolution"
hangs adjacent to Bermedez's
"Venezuela Today/ Venezuela Hoy,"
a condemnation of Hugo Chavez's
rise to power, there doesn't seem to be a lot
of curatorial evidence to justify the dual show
other than the artists' shared heritage.
The Fine Print: The school year opens with
a strong show curated by UGA professor
Jon Swindler and gallery director Jeffrey
Whittle. "Divergent Impressions: Printmaking
Invitational featuring Jason Urban, Leslie
Mutchler, Matthew Sugarman, Sarah Bryant"
went up at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at
the end of August and will be up through
Sept. 15. The four artists take on themes such
as consumer culture and the once-rigid dis
tinction between art and design.
Around Town: Returning to Ricker is painter
Eric Simmons' work. You may remember his
scenes of carnivals and nighttime soirees from
last year. Also up this month at White Tiger
is "The Next to Last Recession-Proof Art and
Music" show. After kicking off with a happen
ing including music from Theo Hilton of Nana
Grizol and Colby Carter of Mouser, the creepy,
mind-bending photographs of Todd Diederich
and Will Donaldson and works on paper by
Heather Kohlberger will remain up through
September.
Rebecca Brantley
R. A. Miller's painting “Blow Oskar Was My Cousin” is on display at
the Lyndon House Arts Center.
G0OO r DIRT.
Schedule online at www.gooddirt.net
FRY Cl AY EVERY FRIDAY
7-9pm • Just S20 person « Beginners Welcome
Call to Register 706-355-3161
t»i
utufU if aria
Mon-Sat 5-1 Opm
237 Prince Ave. (Bottieworks)
Books? Clothes? Dinner? Music? Jewelry? Shoes?
You really CAN have it all.
706.353.1421
www.downtownathensga.com
TAQUERIA del SOL
Green ciiiiies are now In
from Hatch. New Mexico!
Chile Rellenos
available for Dinner luesday-Saturday
I.,
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SEPTEMBER 9,2009 • FlAGPOLE.COM 13