Nicole Miller: The Conductor
July 18–August 22, 2009
Opening reception: Sat., July 18, 7–9pm

LA><ART
2640 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310-559-0166

The Conductor, at LA><ART, is the first solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Nicole Miller. Centered upon the interpretative style of the orchestral conductor, the video mimics one the most demanding, all-encompassing, and complex tasks in the field of music performance. By restaging this trope of musical presentation, Miller examines the gestural, aural, analytic, and intellectual demands of conductorial performance. In that a musical conductor must not only interpret the score, but must develop the gestural skills necessary to transmit that information clearly to an orchestra, Miller's video presents the ways in which the orchestral leader interprets and performs a score. While no sound accompanies the video, the sole character looks outward toward the viewer, revealing the traditionally unseen maestro's facial and bodily contortions. The result of this reversal provides an insight into the interpretive idiosyncrasies that define the translation of aural phenomena into visual form. The Conductor features an actor in front of an abstract backdrop that Miller has directed as he performs a powerful and nonsensical facial choreography. The absurdist nature of this video challenges the viewer at the levels of both perception and meaning.

Curated by Naima Keith.

Nicole Miller received her MFA from USC in 2009 and her BFA from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia in 2005. She was recently included in the exhibition "Psychosomatic Acid Test," curated by Mark Titchner at the Royal Academy of the Arts in London.

Nicole Miller, still from The Conductor, 2008. Digital video.