Art isn’t just about the quality of the work; it’s about what the artist is saying. R.E.M. thinks R.A. Miller, local self-taught artist, has something worth saying. R.E.M., whose roots began in Athens as well, used Miller’s kinetic art of whirligigs in their “Left of Reckoning” video.

R.A. Miller was born in Rabbittown, a small town near Gainseville, Ga., in 1912. He lived on a farm his entire life working at a cotton mill, traveling as a Free Will Baptist Preacher on the side. He set up revivals on a soap box with beer bottles and candles to create an ambiance. Then he would preach to whoever would listen.

After years of preaching, Miller decided his calling was to a visual form of language, that of art. He figured pictures were worth a thousand words. He is considered under the label of “folk” or “self-taught” art, as he had no formal training. Miller painted on whatever he could find around the farm – shutters, tin cut-outs, old signs, or even meat-packing trays.

Paul Manoguerra, curator of the R.A. Miller tour, comments on the attraction of Miller’s art. “He decorated his farm with the whirligigs he created and became a roadside curiosity.” He caught the attention of R.E.M. among other Athens locals, and his artwork began to sell.

The whirligigs are purely aesthetic kinetic structures, but all his other art is didactic. His themes include pop culture, critters, farm animals, patriotism, religion and millennialism. In all his works, his rhetoric is pointing to what he believed was the imminent second coming of Christ. For this reason, many angels, demons, and symbolic crosses will be found among the artwork in the show.

One of his most popular items he entitled “Blow Oskar.” The story goes that every time Miller’s cousin drove past the farm, he would honk his horn. Miller would always shout, “Blow Oskar!” Now there are dozens of pieces dedicated to this story; they have become an Athens favorite. Pieces by Miller can be seen in many Athens restaurants such as the Grit. He even got some national attention after September 11 when he made TV Guide’s front cover for a painting of an American flag.

Carl Mullins, Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Georgia Museum of Art and collector of Miller’s works says the draw of Miller’s art is “the emotion and spirituality of the art.” “It’s raw,” says Mullins, “It evokes gutsy feelings with its bright, striking colors.” Eighty-three of Miller’s pieces that Mullins collected will be on show at the Lyndon House, many of which have never been displayed before.

R.A. Miller may just be a local folk artist, but his passion and message are clear. It is written on top of almost every work – “Lord Love You” – that is what R.A. Miller’s art is saying.

(Miller died in March of 2006. I can’t figure out where to tie this in.) Maybe just at the end?