Artist lets chance make ‘Current Pulls’

    If you have become acquainted with Assistant Professor of Design, Joseph Miller, then you are familiar with his passions: design and baseball. Miller used baseball analogies to describe his work at his "Current Pulls" art exhibit opening at the Winona Art Center, Feb. 23. 

     Small-scale collages filled the walls of a quaint church-turned-art studio. Visitors mingled and studied the magazine-scrap collages as they arrived, and then sat down for a presentation by Miller. Through a slideshow, visitors were able to view the individual collages at a much larger scale and learn about the meaning and process behind Miller's work. 

     The title, "Current Pulls," comes from Miller's addiction and hobby of collecting baseball cards. He described the feeling of anticipation when buying a pack of cards, and the excitement of finding the "one" that he was hoping for. Similarly, this is how Miller feels when he searches for and finds a collage. 

     The process begins with a large pile of randomly cut magazine shards. Miller shuffles them around and uses "L" shaped cropping tools to hunt down a collage. He does not put anything into place, but rather hopes for divine intervention, finding that "one" perfect combination of color, text, and imagery. Once a collage is found, Miller uses Satin gift-wrapping tape to hold the pieces together, and an Olfa blade to cut it out of the pile of shards. He says that he used to find and make the collages quickly, but now the process of finding one can take days. 

     "If I intentionally go after something, I'll never catch it," Miller explained to the visitors. He also compares the hunting process to fishing, saying, "I don't move anything. If I can't find anything – no fish – I reshuffle and search again." 

    By not strategically placing the magazine shards, Miller finds the "truth" of the image, and is often surprised to find hidden meanings or messages in the final product. For example, Miller told the story of a time he visited the grocery store. After Miller accidently knocked over a big stand of Ricola's, a little girl ran over to help him pick them up with no hesitation. The act of kindness and helpfulness stuck with him, and later that day a picture of a young girl appeared in one of his collages. 

     Miller does not try to be clever when he picks out the collages, but instead he tries to find ones that are truly representational of him. The collages often reflect the type of music he is listening to while working, or even thoughts in the back of his mind. In one series of collages, the image of a tie appeared over and over, which Miller believes may be because of his desire to dress up more often. He often finds cryptic messages that turn into something more, such as a particular word or phrase that falls next to a particular image. 

    The process Miller uses in his work was originally introduced to him in the year 2000, when artist Ed Rushton demonstrated the technique in La Crosse. Miller has been drawn to the technique ever since, and it has even spilled over into his other areas of work. In his photography, Miller no longer crops objects out, and focuses on objects in the corners of the photograph first before the typical focus of the center. 

     He has also carried on the process by tearing up his drawings and letting the pieces fall randomly into a new arrangement. He then scans the fresh collage of drawings and raises the contrast enough to erase the edges of the paper and create one new, solid form. 

     One of the visitors at Miller's exhibit opening described his work as, "So organic. It doesn't seem contrived." Miller stays true to himself and his work when he creates the collages, and he brings an innovative and novel form of design into the art world. To see Miller's work, stop by the Winona Art Center, located on 228 East 5th Street. The gallery is open Wednesdays from 4-7 p.m., and Fridays from 3-6 p.m.. The exhibit will be on display until April 27.