By Laura Bond
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 22, 1998

It's Miller Time

Photo © Dona Ann McAdams Arizona Daily Wildcat Miller, who's been known to strip naked and saunter onto the laps of unsuspecting audience members, concedes that certain aspects of his performance are "pretty over the top."

It's a beautiful day in Tucson. Near the fountain outside of Old Main, students lounge lazily in the warm afternoon sun.

Tim Miller, however, is wearing a scarf.

This somewhat quirky choice of accessory comes as no surprise. As one of the most recognizable figures in American performance art, Miller is notorious for his unconventional approach to art, politics, writing and life.

This weekend, Miller brings "Shirts & Skin," his controversial new performance piece, to Centennial Hall, as part of the "Men, Bodies &Film, a Media Arts Symposium." The event examines representations of the male body in film and video. "Shirts & Skin" is a companion piece to Miller's book of the same title, a narrative journey through his life which chronicles his experiences as an artist, gay activist, teacher and writer.

"Shirts & Skin" addresses issues of sex, relationships and coming of age with an entertaining blend of honesty, humor and intensity. The piece begins with a strange tale of his conception in a Los Angeles suburb 39 years ago, a day when "one queer sperm fighting against the odds" merged with a lesbian ovum. Miller confronts the audience with moments of sexual awakening (one of which occurs during a high school basketball game, the "Shirts" vs. the "Skins"), as well as a graphic monologue in which he attempts to recreate his mental processes during a sexual encounter.

"It's probably one of the funniest bits I've ever written," Miller says, leaning up against the fountain. "I've always wanted to write a piece that's kinda like every single thought that goes through your head when you're having sex. I think everyone can relate to having these thoughts, you know, all of a sudden you're picturing your parents, that kind of thing."

Even Miller, who's been known to strip naked and saunter onto the laps of unsuspecting audience members, concedes that certain aspects of his performance are "pretty over the top."

"There's a bit where I wind up completely naked and covered with clothespins," he says, laughing.

Photo © Dona Ann McAdams Arizona Daily Wildcat Tim Miller reaches out to the audience while performing "Shirts & Skin."

And while nudity, graphic language and gay themes are an integral part of Miller's artistic vision, it's a combination conservative politicians have viewed as a triple threat. In 1990, Miller became one of the "NEA Four," when he and three other artists, Holly Hughes, Karen Finley and John Fleck, were denied funding by John Frohnmayer, then head of the National Endowment for the Arts. Though a review board approved each of the four for Solo Performer Fellowships, Frohnmayer refused to award the grants, on the basis that the work was "indecent." With the help of the ACLU, the four successfully sued the federal government for violation of their First Amendment rights and won a settlement which surpassed the original grant amount.

In an era where "decency" in art is at the center of a heated debate over federal arts funding, Miller regards his "NEA Four" experience with mixed emotions.

"It was such a bizarre thing, having all of these congressmen interested in my work," he says. "They were certainly kind of obsessed with it. At the time, I was in my peak kind of activist mode with Act-Up and Queer Nation, so it was clearly an opportunity for me to get my 30-second sound bite on Peter Jennings and Dan Rather; it's important to use your cultural access. But inside of all that it was really kind of ugly. Lots of really vicious people came out of the woodwork, you know, bomb threats to theaters and that kind of thing."

As for the state of artistic freedom and funding today, Miller sees a long road ahead. "There's a huge battle to limit freedom of speech in artistic and academic environments," he says. "It's so strange to me, I mean, who's to say what's decent? There's really no constitutional basis for a 'decency' provision in arts funding."

Despite a backlash from the political right, Miller's visibility as one of the NEA Four certainly heightened his position within the artistic world, affording him a career as a touring performance artist - something most working artists would doubtlessly regard as a rarity. His stage and written work has earned praise from writers and critics across the country, including Angels in America author Tony Kushner, who described Miller's work as "inclusive even when angry, remarkably joyous, celebratory."

Today, Miller serves as founder and creative director of Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica and PS 122 in New York City. Miller provides space, support and the benefit of his own experience to experimental artists, many of them addressing the same kind of social/political/sexual themes as he is. Now teaching performance art and theater at UCLA and California State University in Los Angeles, Miller encourages his students to examine the stories of their own lives, to discover a vehicle wherein each person can be seen and heard.

"There's so much complexity in any person's life," Miller says. "I think we can all relate to another person's stories. I try to help people find their own metaphors for life experiences, and to emphasize giving value to stories that are not always heard, especially those dealing with sexuality, gender, that kind of thing."

Miller is working on his first non-autobiographical book, a novel which will address immigration issues as they relate to homosexuals. The endeavor presents a particular challenge for him, as his previous writings have been largely pulled from scripts for his live performances.

"It's dicey creating characters for a novel when they're really pulled from your own life," he says. "This book will tackle two of the most heated issues in American society: sexuality and immigration. I just figured I'd take them both on at once."

It seems no subject is too political, too personal or too daunting for Tim Miller, a man whose artistic sensibility seems perfectly aligned with his worldview. Life in the center of an art world viewed as radical or dangerous by some hasn't weakened his desires to express himself and to teach others, to find the common ground between individuals. Nor has it spoiled his delight in the simple pleasures of life.

"What a beautiful day," he remarks, looking around at the students and the campus. "This is going to be fun."

During his two week stay in Tucson, Miller will engage in several outreach workshops for the gay/lesbian community on the UA campus and in Tucson, where he will focus on issues of identity, sexuality and self-esteem. These workshops will take place Wednesday, Jan. 21 through Saturday, Jan. 31 at various locations around campus. For more information, phone John Potter at 624-1779. Miller will also read and sign books at Border's Books and Music, 4235 N. Oracle Road, Jan. 27, 9-11 p.m., and Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave., Jan. 29, 7-8:30 p.m.

Tim Miller performs "Shirts & Skin" at 8 p.m. Jan. 24, 30 and 31 at Centennial Hall, where 250 seats will be moved onto the stage for an intimate "theater-in-the-round" experience. Tickets are $15, half-price with student ID. These performances are designated for mature audiences only.