Meet Steve Miller | artist, author, software entrpreneur, teacher, fashion designer, magazine editor, surf and skate boards, bibliophile

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steve Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

Combining creative and career is the elixir and secret sauce. Implied in “creative” is freedom and “career” implies a prescribed path for survival. Whether conscious or not, it’s mandatory to combine both in some proportion to achieve a sustainable model for living. In fact, we live in such a complex world that creativity is needed in all aspects of life. Maybe, that’s the message for the viewer of art.

We also live in a world that makes no sense these days so, sometimes the “uselessness” of art is the only world that does makes sense. I’m moving more towards that model with my books that lie outside traditional art categories with a hybrid model combining science as much as fine art. In my most recent book, Surfing the Cosmos, rather than choosing a critic or art historian, I chose scientists to write about art.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Earlier on in my practice I realized that the art that I loved was connected to the visual language of it’s time. An obvious example is that Renaissance art created it’s realism with the help of two point perspective and mathematics. For me, it was clear that technology was the language of our time which led me to explore experiments with computers, technology and science. I used medical technology to re-invent the portrait and used similar technology to x-ray the Amazon to highlight a discussion about energy and the environment documented in a trilogy of books, Radiographic, Surf/Skate and Surfing the Cosmos. Reach for the stars as well as be an early adapter.

Surfing the Cosmos is about needing to be at the edge of scientific theory which led to an invitation to visit the world’s largest physics experiment in Geneva. This book presents a new body of work – photographs and paintings that juxtapose pictures of the chaotic electrical wire grids of the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro with those of the gigantic instruments used by scientists at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research based in Switzerland) along with reproductions of the scientists’ scribbled equations. There is a unique way of combining these seemingly disparate images to reveal our shared humanity and our shared responsibility for the world around us.

There are endless paths to a creative life. I’ve worked in fine art and business by co-founding the software company ARTERNAL. To keep myself creative in many fields is a personal necessity so I design fashion, cashmere (for James Paul Cheung), surf boards and skate decks (www.stevemiller.art.)  I teach at the School of Visual Arts and am a contributing editor for Musée Magazine. In addition the 3 books published by G Editions and I make countless unique artist’s books. Each of these enterprises feeds my curiosity and produces innumerable challenges. Stimulation keeps the mind engaged which, for me, is pleasure. There is no secret other than the need to explore.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
People come to New York because the supply of stimulation is endless. In any week of the year there are amazing exhibits in every museum. The New Museum is the closest to cutting edge and the current Theaster Gates show is a must. Of Course MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Met are steadfast solid holders of history. This art must be seen IRL with your eyes. The commercial gallery scene is exploding in Chelsea, Tri-Beca, LES as well as the Upper East Side. The app SeeSaw is a great way to get a listing of the current exhibitions and create a walking map.

If you are in Chelsea you can see the art world eating at Cook Shop. Sullivan Street Bakery on 9th Avenue is great for breakfast. Shukette next door to Sullivan St. is a trendy and a delicious original for dinner. A quiet nook on the UES is Via Quarinno on East 73rd and shoot your wallet at Saint Ambroeus 1000 Madison Ave and see the well heeled art world. The food is excellent. There are so many great restaurants which is why they publish books and guides to sort them out. My favorite is Portale, on West 18th St.  Use my name if it helps getting a reservation.

The history of the skyscraper is in NY from the Woolworth building to the Seagrams building and Lever House across the Street. The experience of architecture is the living museum of NY streets. The lobby of 1 Wall Street was just renovated and the Noguchi garden at Chase Plaza with the large Dubuffet tree is an elegant and striking combination. Just keep walking and look up. Or look west from Chase to see a large scale bright red sculpture by Mark diSuvero made from construction I-beams.

New York is a great city for coffee. The website Eater just did a review for all you java junkies. I live near Suited, 45 John St and a great place for a cup of joe and an egg sandwich.

The jazz scene is endless. Seeing live music is a must. Mostly for me it’s the Vanguard, Blue Note or Birdland. There are clubs everywhere. A week is just not long enough.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
With my work, it takes community, inspiration and a team to execute a plan. For example with my book Surfing the Cosmos, it takes InDesign talent, my publisher G Editions who proof reads, prints and distributes the book as well as the great writers Neil de Grasse Tyson and Arthur I Miller. In addition there is an entire page of other people to credit for this book.

My studio team has been with me for decades, Becky Rosko, John Wilton and Henry Sanchez and Matej Vakula for years.

There are so many artists that inspire and too many to name. Titian is one of the great artists that could move from the tight realism of egg tempera to flat out abstraction in his late work. It’s exciting to see the imagination, invention and freedom in so many artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Duchamp, Pollack, Polke, Jasper Johns, David Hammonds, Basquiat, Bourgeois and Theaster Gates.

Reading has been essential, especially Fouclault and Baudrillard. And who can live without the music of Coltraine, Miles and Monk, all true original voices. Bill Evans and Gonzalo Rubalcaba are always on my radar.

Long term friends complete the community. Hillary was right. It takes a village.

Website: www.surfingthecosmos.com www.stevemiller.com www.stevemiller.art www.jamespaulcheung.com

Instagram: @stevemillerdotcom

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-miller-0387a510/

Twitter: @stevemillerart

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveMillerStudio

Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/stpaint https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=steve+miller+artist