Ed Miller’s Sculptures on Virtual Display

In the age of COVID-19, many are turning towards the arts to express their thoughts. Through online exhibitions and social media, quarantine artists can share their craft instantly to the entire world. PVCC is harnessing local talent to create some exhibits of their own, as seen by Ed Miller’s newest collection, Inventions for Uncertain Times.

The Adjunct Instructor of Art/Art Appreciation at PVCC, Ed Miller, released his new solo exhibition on September 25. Miller graduated from the Art Department at PVCC and earned his M.F.A. at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Miller has had many pieces shown throughout Central Virginia and is notorious for being active in the local art community. This exhibit in particular displays a vast range of works away from the canvas and into sculpture-based art. Currently, his exhibition titled Inventions for Uncertain Times has opened up online and is running from September 25, 2020 to January 20, 2021. His works diversify themselves from beautiful, abstract, large scale sculptures to smaller, more intimate self portraits inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miller’s pieces are incredibly versatile. The first sculptures presented in the gallery are two clay busts from the Art in Odd Places: Matter collection. Random people walking through the Charlottesville Historic Downtown Mall were used as models for collection and their busts were made on the spot. These busts are unlike any of Miller’s other pieces shown in the gallery because they use a significant amount of color. 

The second collection shown includes the pieces Elevated Figure, Deconstructed Minotaur, and Goddess Wings. This series is more abstract and focuses more on detail and texture. Like the other collection, the series incorporates clay but it also includes paper, tape, and wood.

Ed Miller’s piece Body of Light uses a beautiful geodesic dome structure along with silhouettes of himself cast over a lake to mirror the image. The pitch black background makes this piece immediately stand out against the contrast of the red dome and white silhouettea.

The photography included on the website was clear and the exposure of each picture was well balanced. Usually, when a person is viewing a sculpture they would walk around it. To truly experience any piece of art, it is recommended to view it from different angles. If there were more images of each piece, zoomed in or from other angles, then the online gallery would be even better for the viewer.

Miller’s newest pieces in the collection display a unique blend of creativity and relevance. These sculptures seem to be heavily inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, hence its name Inventions for Uncertain Times. All of these tackle the concept of social distancing and safety measures with a slight science-fiction twist. Ed Miller’s Self-Portrait with Powered Air Mask #2 displays an air filter running through a tube directly to a shielded frontal mask with spectacular attention to detail. From the ridges in the air filter to the deformation in the hair from the mask’s strap, this is the level of quality that is simply the norm in Miller’s work. Other works, such as the Isolation Suit Model, demonstrate unique concepts that are almost retrofuturistic in style, while works like Face Mask with Two HEPA Filters and Fan stretch to absurdity in their design.

Within these debilitating times of the global pandemic, art is often something to look to and pursue. Ed Miller’s Inventions for Uncertain Times blends uniqueness, creativity, and relevance to create art within protective social distancing equipment. Emitting hope within experimental creativity, Ed Miller delivers soon-to-be artifacts from a time so revolutionary in our present.

If you would like to learn more about Ed Miller, visit his website here.

If you would like to view the entirety of this collection, visit the collection here.