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John Anthony Miller
Interview |
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April John's June 2005 Interview with artist John Anthony Miller
John Anthony
Miller's Photo with beauty queens Sir
Johnno, With
van Gogh Photo
with Buddy Ebsen John Anthony
Miller's Victory 92C Cruiser Motorcycle year 2000 John Anthony
Miller's John Anthony
Miller's John
Anthony
Miller Photography |
This interview
as presented on this site has been
condensed and somewhat edited from the original long interview
for my book, and more will be published as time permits. This section of
Mr. Miller's website is to further educate and enlighten persons interesting
in his art in the hope that you might better understand the artist and his
unique abilities. All questions asked in the interview
pertain to aspects of his life that either influenced his art in the past or do so
presently. I will be conducting an interview with John Anthony in few
months to cover some in depth issues. - April John
An informal (and somewhat reluctant) interview that took place on September 22, 2005 at the Ventura Marina near the arcade. Text (5366 words) has been edited and more will be inserted at a future date. Ms. John is currently working on a biography of the artist and hopes that it will be published within three years. April John: Hi John. Thank you for letting me take the time to conduct this interview. I know you don't give interviews as a general rule and have a very busy schedule. I am sure your fans would love to hear some recent developments in your career. John Anthony Miller: Thanks April. Yes, that's true, I usually don't take time for, nor do I like to do interviews, but I feel comfortable with you as a friend of many years. And besides that, it is time for a fresh biography! I'm happy that I have a few fans still out there after all these years. April John: Where were you born? And also please tell us something about your early childhood and how it may have influenced your artistic career. John Anthony Miller: I was born to Dr. Zane Edward Miller and Phyllis Miller on Thomas Jefferson's birthday in Tacoma, Washington just before an earthquake. You can figure out how old I am [Miller laughing] by checking with the seismological report of the worst Washington State earthquake on record. I believe that everything happens for a purpose. A big sign of my grand entry onto the planet! [Miller laughing] I once had my horoscope done, and it revealed some interesting things. But, as the artistic mystical type I can make such statements! [Miller laughing] Anyway, now you have asked about my childhood. I remember as a very small child my father, who was a medical doctor working at Fort Steilacoom in Washington and watching the old Superman serials on televisions with George Reeves. I also remember playing in the backyard in Washington state, near Mount Rainer I believe, when we lived near a lake there, where they raced speedboats. I once looked up while playing in my back yard and saw a huge green barge-like object floating across the sky going from right to left. It made no sound. It was like I was looking up from the bottom of a lake. I did some checking about this sighting many many years later and found that I saw it in what was known as the "green fireball period" near the place where Kenneth Arnold saw flying disc objects, later coming up with the term "flying saucers." I also remember two people in gray suits visiting my mother. They both looked sort of like "Pee Wee Herman" - very androgynous and with pointed inverted v-shaped eyebrows. I also remember that about this time, I was playing on the sidewalk, alone, and the inside of my head sort of "expanded" everywhere at once...I don't know how to explain it...like a cosmic expansion. All this had some kind of influence in my belief, early on, in some kind of existence of some sort and in space ships and visitors from space. To this day I still think I was sort of "singled out" to experience these things, as they are definitely not "normal." Later on, in
the mid 1950's my family moved to Paso Robles, California where my
father was employed at
The Paso Robles Boys School for troubled youth. He would take me there on weekends
to swim in the pool they had there. I remember how tough the boys were. Really
what was once called "hoods." Not like the "Fonzy-type"
guys portrayed on TV. My father had a nice collection of knives and
other weapons they had made that he confiscated. Oh yes, I almost forgot. There was this drive-in theatre, called The Oaks. It is gone now. Lots of tract homes there now. Our family had an old Pontiac car and my father would all go there to see movies. Those were memorable days. Now days drive-in movies are something most kids will never experience. The first movie I saw was "Forbidden Planet." I also remember seeing "Rebel Without a Cause" with James Dean. By the way, my father also worked at the Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital and was employed there, on call, when they brought in the body of James Dean after he had his car accident in Cholame, which was about fifteen miles away. He never wanted to talk about the incident, even many years later. He would just say something like "Very serious head injuries" and sort of turned white. He was there, definitely. I also "fell in love" with the girl across the street named Janet. The romantic young artist [laughing]. Later on, in the late 1950's my father was employed at Atascadero State Hospital in Atascadero, California, for the criminally insane. Atascadero is just a few miles from Paso Robles. He bought an old farmhouse there, about a hundred years old with about five acres of land and a hill. I used to make giant kites and fly them on the hill. We also had lots of animals. Chickens, a lamb, rabbits and other more exotic animals that spurned my interest in zoology. I pretty much grew up in Atascadero with all those rabbits and other pets including snakes, alligators, lizards and turtles. I would also draw line pictures or knights and trees and my classmates at school marveled at my artistic ability. I remember I was always chosen for any art project that would come up at school. I remember some fellow had one of those dragster cars that he would race on the local speed track. He asked me to paint the number seven on it, which I did. The hopped-up rod had an aluminum air foil on it and the body was orange. Since all of us were into Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and Rat Fink, this was real cool. The fellow's name was Chuck Jones (not the famous Chuck Jones). I also collected stamps and played "knight" -- all of which kind of help mold me and my pre-occupation with small things and romanticism. Also there was a motorcycle shop in the rural area there as well. They sold Suzuki 80cc motorcycles. I wanted one badly, but never got it. I also fell in love with an old purple Triumph motorcycle. I remember sitting on the seat in that shop wishing it was mine. It was so large, and was only eleven years old. My love for motorcycles is still with me. April John: So, this is interesting. How did you do in school classrooms? Did you have any art classes? John Anthony Miller: Well, I did come from a long line of medical doctors (MD's), on my father's side. I was the first of his family on my father's side not to pursue and receive an MD degree. So, the pressure was on to get good grades in high school, but I was a rebel. I was a strange student, often independent and sometimes dreaming about other things in life. Living in my own world and generally being picked on by my classmates. I am on record as receiving the grade of "A" in mathematics in junior high school and then receiving an "F" in math in high school shortly thereafter. Some of the local algebra geniuses found out that I received a failing grade and mocked me. I remember the math teachers and how stern they were. It made matter worse and worse. It is miracle that I passed with a D minus grade. I just withdrew further into my dream world. My father was furious. Just a short time before he had bought me a great drafting set for getting the highest grade in mathematics the year before. I used to dream about building homes and drew plans. I remember going into downtown Atascadero and buying a sheet of architectural drafting paper from an architect's office. It cost me thirteen cents.. I was going to make my house floor plan masterpiece on this. I drew some floor plans for a house I wanted. The drawing is long lost. I remember also liking zoology and going into the creek behind the school and getting frogs and snakes. I never did take any art classes, but again, I was always asked to do the art stuff. I remember once that I was asked to make cartoons for some project by a very strict male teacher in the 6th grade. Everyone loved them, but the teacher. He was a real tyrant. He used to throw me across the room and make me stand in the corner for long periods of time. This sort of thing would not be tolerated these days. I remember this sadist throwing me across the room once and the pins on the bulletin board stuck into my arm throw my new blue sweater. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I mention all this stuff, because you can see why I would escape into my little world of knights, hot rods, motorcycles, art and Rat Finks. Oh yes, I loved to read comic books. And yes, my mother threw them out...including Batman Number One and Justice League Number One. One of my answers to the ridicule (and being called a "pansy" and whatever...) was that in my high school days I signed up to to participate in football where I actually excelled. My happiest memory in football was when I "decked" one of the toughest guys on the field one day. He deserved it. He laid there on the ground squirming in pain. Oh yes, and in the eighth grade I beat up a kid called Max during recess...he always wore a black motorcycle jacket. I actually felt bad after it was over. I think he was actually mal-nourished and had no energy to fight back. He had red hair. Strange memories for a pacifist kid, eh? Anyway, to continue on, the family eventually moved to Fresno, California and I attended Fresno City College and then Fresno State University. I earned most of the college money for this (my father thought I should work as much as possible to pay for my education) by loading crates of fruit at Morris Cocola Fruit Packing Company onto trucks in the hot, sticky and humid summer weather in Fresno. This was an interesting experience. I remember meeting some real tough types there. A lot of knife fights and drag car racing (with those real tough muscle cars that made the ground thunder) were part of that time. Also a lot of guys hung around who had come home from the Viet Nam War. An interesting experience for sure. Also an interesting time to live in. However, in some ways it was very unpleasant. I also had another early morning summer job picking tomatoes in Fresno as well. Many mornings I would get up in the darkness of the morning to the sounds of solitary and strange birds to pick those tomatoes in the swamps and sweltering humidity. You had to finish picking by noon, as it was too hot to continue. I also did garden work and maintained the grounds of Marie Pagliasso (whose boyfriend was once "Dutch" Leonard, the baseball player) on The Van Ness Extension in Fresno. Ms. Pagliasso was instrumental in many Democratic functions of her day, and once owned the yacht of Franklin Roosevelt. She was an eccentric woman and I liked her very much. She died of cancer, refusing treatment, and she would just talk to me about "the monster" growing in her. That ended my job pruning her rose gardens. I remember at her estate sale that she had a lot of art books. I bought them. There were a lot of them, and I still have them. Good Heavens! I am rambling! In the University I studied in a formal art class under the famous Fresno artist, Veraz Samuelian, who was a was a friend of William Saroyan, the famous author. Veraz's statue of "David of Sassoon" is in front of City Hall. I remember him working on the plans and talking about it and several of us students running across the green lawn with him. He was full of life. Quite a guy. We had nude models and other things to draw in the class. He was a very good artist and a wonderful influence on me. Briefly, I graduated magna cum laude from Fresno State University receiving degrees in zoological and physical science followed with some brief postgraduate work in neurology using the electron microscope on rat brains. This study was interrupted when my father contracted Guillian-Barre Syndrome, and I moved with them to Ventura, CA to help the family. At this time my father was employed at Ventura General Hospital in Loma Hall as a psychiatrist. At the time he was the only board certified neuro-psychiatrist in the city of Ventura, CA. This was in 1971. All during this time I was doing line drawings. My favorite subject seemed to be Alice In Wonderland...probably because I felt I could identify with the whole concept. My whole world seemed a wonderland. One large piece was finished at this time called "Fantasy." It has many Alice in Wonderland characters and other strange things in it. I made 300 prints (lithographs) from this piece and signed and numbered 200 of them. It was published in Santa Barbara by a company called Artfame Gallery. I remember the fellow in charge there was F. Lee Batton. I also did some other line pieces. One was called "Mors Janua Vitae" or Death Is The Gate to (Eternal) Life. I had previously gotten rejected from about a dozen medical schools, I was 26 years old and felt it was too late. My father was sick and my life was confused and I was not part of the university system any more, stuck in Ventura with its city college. Hence this strange piece evolved out of my mind and rejection of the medical schools. I was not well-adjusted. At the same time a lot of young women seemed to interested in me. That was all long ago. I also drove a Kawasaki 500cc motorcycle everywhere. Very fast bike. Eventually I became partners with person in a photography business and then just opened up a little art studio in downtown Ventura. By coincidence it was the old office that Johnny Cash had when he first was starting his singing career. There was a sliding door that went into a wall. One day I removed the door and found some papers inside the wall. They were record awards to Johnny Cash. I gave them to one of his daughters. I remember the walls has some kind of sound-proof type boards on the walls with little holes in them. Also wires came out of walls here and there. The address was 433 East Main Street, Suite 4 in case anyone is interested for historical purposes. All during this time, my father was still in bed, very ill with Guillane-Barre Syndrome. This was in the late 1970's. After a while, in my spiritual quest for enlightenment, I converted to Christianity, and then all the colors in my work became pastel and bright. The next piece was "The Magical Mother Goose" and then followed "The Magical Land of Oz." This was in the days when Peter Pan books were nearly impossible to get in bookstores and no one used the word "Magical" in anything. Now, of course, it is different. The word is used commonly. April John: That is interesting. So, are you still a Christian now? John Anthony Miller: If you mean a follower of Jesus Christ, no. No one I know is a follower of Jesus Christ anywhere that I have met. Maybe one or two people in my past, but they were exceptional people. I had often thought that maybe I should become a TV evangelist and start to make some good money instead of selling art and books. What do you think? [Laughing] April John: OK. I think you perhaps being a little hard on yourself, and perhaps we can bring up the subject later. I am going to change the subject. I am curious about how you felt about the Viet Nam War? You were a young man growing up right in the middle of this conflict. Didn't this pose some kind of problem to your education or future plans? John Anthony Miller: Well, I don't like to talk about this, but since you asked me, I will. Basically I was against the war then. I am still against what happened there. Oh, don't get me wrong. I have no problem with a country going to war if there is a reason, and war is the ultimate last resort after all else has failed. In high school, I had several friends in Bullard High School (in Fresno) go over there, and came back as corpses. They were great guys. I can still see their smiling faces now. I also had a friend at the time in Fresno that was in active duty there. After hearing was was going on first hand from him, I knew something was very wrong with that war. This was not my father's war. People my age were being drafted and it was a certainty that the same fate would happen to me, as I had a low draft number. I was called for the physical right after I graduated from the university, but of course I passed with flying colors, in spite of a couple of things that would have posed a problem in combat. I was also a protestor. It did no good. They really played hardball in those days. I could go on about physical abuse, but I would rather not. The perception of liberty and freedom in this country from that time until now is a bit perplexing to me. But I am a patriot. By the way, I
consider the Viet Nam Veterans as true heroes. Have you
noticed how the word "hero" is thrown around so commonly these
days? Everyone now days is a "hero." But these guys are real heroes. I feel
that they never got the respect they earned and still deserve. The whole
thing was tragic. But yes, that war was a concern. I expected to be
in service. I appealed a couple of times, which did no good, and then my
number slipped into a higher ranking. I just wish things for
everyone could have been different. I don't see that our leaders have
learned a whole lot from this war, sadly. Wisdom is not there. April John: I can see you sort of misting up, so let's change the subject. John Anthony Miller: No, that's OK. I just care about this country. People do not realize the sacrifices people have made. If it was not for them, you and I would not be here. I even lost an uncle in the Second World War. We as a human race will never learn that war is not the solution. What we need a big comet ready to hit earth and threaten to end all living things. Would we be fighting amongst ourselves then? I think not. April John: John, this leads me to another question that has to influence your art. What belief system, for lack of a better term, do you have now, today? John Anthony Miller: Well, I have been on planet earth for a while for sure. All my life I have been searching for that "Nirvana" or whatever one may call it. In the past I have been an agnostic, an atheistic, a pragmatic searcher, even a fundamentalist "Bible thumping" Christian...and some more things that I will not mention here, that I am definitely not proud of. Just know that I have been exposed to these dark kinds of things. This was when I was about 18 years old and did not know much and did some stupid things. Now, I am more of an "amalgamation" of a Christian, Buddhist, ancestor-worship, Taoism and Zen. And this is constantly evolving. I am a member of no formal church. I find spiritualism in nature and flowers. God is real. There is a Divine Presence directing everything. Everything has a purpose. Every person that you meet has a purpose. It may be from some previous existence and you are working out karma now, to be more Christ-like, or Buddha-like. I also tend to some kind of Jeffersonian spiritual belief. We are all on a spinning top and it will fall where it may. God is just looking at the whole thing. Oh, and at this stage of my life I can't stand to look at graphic violence against others on TV. I mean the really graphic stuff. I have to turn the TV off or switch channels. April John: Interesting. Then you believe in evolution, karma and past-lives? John Anthony Miller: Yes. And in ghosts as well. The spirit of a person survives death. April John: Interesting. Can you tell us about any of your past lives? John Anthony Miller: Well, this is a subject that I really don't talk about to just anyone , but will I will discuss here a little since you asked. I was a gladiator in ancient Rome (a successful one by the way), a Roman soldier, an ancient Egyptian, a French Impressionist painter, a French Knight, a Renaissance artist, a law enforcement officer in a desert who was shot in the head with his own gun, a medical doctor in England and again another medical doctor in this last century. Oh, and last but not least a Samurai in old feudal Japan. I still seem to be strongly affected by "Samurai-type" thinking. April John: Ok. Next subject. After you moved to Ventura, what did you do? You mentioned that you were not in school and that your father was very ill. John Anthony Miller: Yes, my father was ill and the family was in disarray. After graduation, I sold flowers on street corners. I then worked for three years in a pathology laboratory here in Ventura assisting on about 32 autopsies and processing thousands of tissue samples for histological slides from the living and the dead. That was an interesting job. I saw a lot, and met some interesting people. Meanwhile my father was still in the hospital with Guillane-Barre Syndrome. We were all hoping he would get better. He never got better though. He was ill, in bed, for 25 years. I was with him all that time. I then attended law school for one year and a half, and tiring of that (and also my personality was not suited to this kind of work mainly) , I became employed at a picture framing shop owned by Al and Rhonda Beredon, for which I am eternally thankful, and mastered that trade. I met a lot of artists and learned a lot about art conservation from people who brought their expensive work in the shop to be framed. I sold my artwork in the store and shortly thereafter decided to pursue an art career producing miniature etchings using copper and zinc scraps. I was always interested in making multiple images from an original work and what was good enough for Rembrandt was good enough for me. Besides, I sold a lot of them and people loved them. I also sold my art in a place downtown called "Plaza Park." While employed at the picture framing shop I also became friends with Johnny Cash's daughters Cindy and Tara, and they bought artwork and opened some new doors. I am still friends with them all these years later and recently saw them at their mother's funeral. Their mother Vivian Distin was a wonderful person, who really did a lot to get me started selling my miniature art years ago. (John pointing) The letter on the wall there behind you is from Johnny Cash. He had a "Mountain Man" print. He was a very impressive fellow. A great man in every sense. In Ventura I attended some local art classes, but seeing that they offered me nothing I sort of just went my way. I was told by the art instructors there that "small art is reflective of a small mind." This comment basically came to fruition after a September 1980 full page article on my miniature etchings came out in the local newspaper when hundreds of miniature etching were sold at a Chicago Trade Show...but I am getting ahead of the interview here. That article really stirred a lot of heads. Artists were phoning the Ventura Star Free press wanting to know just who the hell this John Anthony Miller guy was and how come he was getting all that publicity. Why? Because I used my head and knew how to get the publicity. Besides, it was one really great story. After that, the paper started to run a series on the local artists in town. The local artists seemed trite and jealous. It must have been that the article mentioned that there were 20 sales reps across the country pushing my little etchings. I still find it amusing 25 years later. Oh, I do remember some college professor saying "small art, small mind." Leonardo also did small drawings. April John: No, let's skip to the time when you had the big sale at the Chicago Trade Show. This sounds like a big turning point in your career. John Anthony Miller: OK. Yes, this period of my life was a turning point for me in art sales. It happened in 1981. Before that I had been selling little etchings on zinc plates. Oh, maybe they were two inch square pieces or so. I did some larger one, 8 by 10 inch pieces and a bunch of smaller ones as well, 4 x 5 inch pieces. There were mainly religious subjects, angels and the like. One I did of Lazarus raising the dead man. Some other ones were fantasy related. In general this was market subject the people liked and bought and I enjoyed doing them. I had a small etching press so I could print small editions on my own time. A friend showed this small etchings to a retired Navy Commander named Norman Gearhart, who lived in Camarillo about 15 miles away. He had a business making dollhouse furniture and going to trade shows and doing extremely well with the products, which were the very best on the market at that time. He approached me and asked if I would do six or seven pieces to go along with his miniature furniture, so over the past three months I made up a series for him, which he took to a miniature and dollhouse trade show in Chicago in 1980. I got the phone call a day after he set up the show for about 300 etchings. Shortly thereafter, another large order followed, then another. This kept going on for some time and I was very busy. He had teak frames made in Taiwan that we could put the signed and numbered etchings into. They had little Mylar™ glass coverings on them as well. Each had a certificate of assurance with it. I did several shows with him and we sold lots of them. Articles about me came out in many miniature magazines. The main miniature magazine wanted a commissioned piece as well, and I did two of them. I did a large run of over 600 etchings for the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts (N.A.M.E.) . It was an engraving of a little balloon that they gave out a one of their conventions. I had my work also selling inside the Chicago Art Institute, where I did seven commissioned pieces for them. I also did a piece for the Chicago Science and Industry Museum, where my engraving of The Colleen Moore Fairy Castle was sold. Colleen Moore, the silent movie star, donated here fabulous doll castle to the museum. I have a nice letter from here commending my work. I never met her personally, but she respected my ability Here are two 1981 photos of Commander Gearhart, myself and the gentleman who ran the factory in Taiwan. I forget his name, I think is was Chen, but I do remember he was very nice. I am the thin guy in the white bell-bottom pants. Ha ha! Anyway, the statement about small art small minds was proven definitely to be an opinion of even smaller minds than that of the artist. I produced over 70 copper and zinc plates and the prints struck off these metal plates were marketed all over the world for over ten years by the number one major doll house furniture and miniature manufacturer at that time-Reminiscence In Miniature, Inc. I never had a written contract with the Commander our word being our bond. It was an excellent relationship. He was a wonderful man. During that period, I hand-printed, signed and numbered thousands of copperplate line engravings and etchings, as well as doing the special etching reproductions under commission for The Thorne Room Galleries [view inscribed Miniature Collector Magazine cover from Assistant Curator Alice Pirie Hargrave of The Thorne Rooms to John Anthony Miller] housed at The Chicago Art Institute, and the Colleen Moore Fairy Castle located in The Chicago and Science and Industry Museum, going on show-tours and winning awards for his unique work (I used a unique printing process that I developed that could pick up micro-lines finer than a human hair on copper and transfer them cleanly on paper). One etching is supposed to be in the Smithsonian I have been told. It was an interesting period in my life, and my skills grew considerably. I was also privileged to receive oil painting instruction from the greatest supreme still life painter of this century, Frederick E. Grüe who greatly admired and respected my work, and called me "the master of detail" and a "true professional." These comments are valued very highly considering the caliber and sheer genius of Grüe's work. Frederick Grüe died somewhat recently in Indiana at the age of 44. The only comparable masters in this artist's opinion are van Hysum (the Dutch flower painter) and Leonardo da Vinci. April John: So, you have not had any recent public showings of your art for a while, correct? John Anthony Miller: Yes, that is correct. My last exhibit was at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, California in 1992-1993. There were three of us exhibiting in that show -Frederick Grüe ,Robert Olzewski (the master of miniature fine art sculpture) and myself. This major exhibit was the first of its kind and lasted many months (Note: the artist will send you a signed poster from this exhibit for $15 ). April John: Do you plan to show your work anywhere now? or in the future? John Anthony Miller: I had said that I was through doing public exhibits, but recently I had a yen to show some things, and have arranged with Accolades Art Gallery in Ventura, CA to put some pieces in their gallery. My work will be shown starting on October 28, 2005. The gallery is located on Main Street in downtown Ventura, CA. April John: So, tell me about what you like to do and some of your interests. John Anthony Miller: OK. Here are a few. Writing esoteric poetry, growing and photographing orchids, photography, paper restoration and book conservation, metaphysical and astrological-Jungian philosophy, sculpting, collecting and restoring rare books, oil painting, aesthetics, motorcycling, pyramidology, Biblical prophecy, herbology, medicine and recording the voices of the "dead." Also some UFO study, mathematics, goldfish and koi. Oh, I also occasionally get drafted into doing websites. April John: I heard that you do martial arts? Is that true? And if so, has it helped you in any way? John Anthony Miller: Yes, I used to do some Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu (under Master Manuel "Murphy" Rodriguez). I just recently had dinner with him and he told me that he is going to be inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. My back and leg injury some six years ago put an end to my martial arts practice. All this helped me to become more focused on things. April John: I also heard you were in some kind of motorcycle accident? When did this happen and how bad was it? John Anthony Miller: Yes. It was about three years ago. Some car pulled out in front of me. I braked and that is the last thing I remember. Next thing I remember is being on my back in an ambulance and some people hovering over me. I reached up to touch my teeth (my arms were strapped to my sides) to see if they were there. I then gave out two telephone numbers and then passed out again. It occurred at Halloween time and spent a few days in the hospital with four broken ribs and smashed left thumb that required pins and a plate and a punctured lung. Also a concussion. My helmet saved my life, my leather gloves were shredded and my clothes were wrecked. My boots were gone also. I was lucky. No one knows who the car was in front of me. The bike came out OK. The crash bar saved my leg and the motorcycle. It was a big Victory Cruiser weighing about 800 pounds. I call this experience my 'God Recall.' I am still paying for it. My insurance would not cover it. I still ride the bike, although I did not ride it for eight months after the accident. When I did get back on it I had a few panic attacks. Interesting to say the least. Ever have a panic attack? If so, ever have one a motorcycle? I suppose not as I think if a person did have one they would be dead. I was determined to not let this thing get to me. I had one of those attacks on a freeway, and let me tell you...it is terrifying. To me it was a mind over matter thing. I would not recommend anyone trying to solve this problem themselves, it is too dangerous. April John: Hmmm. Maybe you should sell the bike. It sounds very dangerous. And, we don't want anything to happen to you. John Anthony Miller: Lots of people tell me this same thing. My karma is not to be killed or injured on a motorcycle from this point on. And to me, riding one is very therapeutic and Zen-like. April John: So, here are some general questions. Would you rather be an ant or a bee, and why: John Anthony Miller: A strange question. Well, neither really. But if I had to choose, then I would rather be a bee because they can fly and have some kind of freedom. April John: What was the first movie you ever saw on a big screen. Did it affect you? John Anthony Miller: The first big film I saw as a kid was "Forbidden Planet." It scared me to death. It also a had an effect on my outlook in art, believe or not. My father took us to the drive in theater in Paso Robles, CA. The name of it was "The Oaks." It has been torn down though long ago. Another film we saw was "Rebel Without A Cause" with James Dean. It did not have that much of influence on me. I seem to remember that the "chickie run" victim and his sleeve getting caught in the door handle had some kind of effect on me though. April John: What is your favorite movie? John Anthony Miller: "Gladiator" with Russell Crowe. To me it is a perfect film. April John: What is your favorite rock group? John Anthony Miller: The Moody Blues, followed by The Beatles, then The Turtles. I also like the singer Gerry Rafferty very much. April John: How about your favorite artist, composer and book? John Anthony Miller: Favorite artist is Leonardo, followed by Van Gogh and then Tiepolo. My favorite composer is Beethoven, followed by John Rameau. My favorite book is "Alice in Wonderland" followed by "The Origin of Species" by Darwin. April John: Since you also sell books, who is your favorite author? And since you also had lots of comic books once, do you have a favorite comic book character? John Anthony Miller: Living author would be Ray Bradbury. Dead authors would be several: Jack London, H. Rider Haggard, H. G. Wells, Jules Verne and other too numerous dead people to recite here. I just also want you to know that I love books and they will always be around me, but I putting much more of my energy now into my art. Selling books these days is truly frustrating and very difficult. Too many people doing it and most are novices. The market is ruined. Oh, my favorite comic book character is "Daredevil." April John: You are an interesting person for sure. Did you want to add anything else to this interview? John Anthony Miller: Thank you for your comment. About all I can say is that I am basically a romantic idealistic theistic existentialist, who has his heart and mind lodged somewhere in the 16th Century, but have turned to computer technology as an alternative means of expression by mainly for survival. Perhaps the two can be blended as one, I suppose it can. I look forward to the future and to produce unique art in both the traditional media and the more digital expressive venue. I like to think that art is "us" and also to quote Dr. Buckaroo Banzai: "Just remember that wherever you go there you are." |
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