Process — Nachume Miller

Nachume Miller (1949–1998) was a German born artist who immigrated to New York City in 1974, where he made a name for himself in the American Modern Art scene. Over the next two decades, Nachume was prolific in the range of media, styles, and references he incorporated into his art. His paintings and three-dimensional works pay homage to artists throughout history, from the classical Greeks to Rauschenberg. He prioritized craft over concept and was a disciplined painter, never neglecting workmanship in favor of a trend. His work is marked with curiosity, sincerity and intensity.

Nachume's son (Danny Miller of High Tide) asked me to interpret archival footage of his father's process. Nachume self-taped as he worked, making his practice of craft visible. I loved that the footage showed him pausing to think. Another reel of 16mm tape showed experimenting on the celluloid itself, scratching and eroding the negative.

All of this reminds us how invisible practice and repetition is, yet that devotion accumulates into craft. It also reminded me of this meditative (repetitive?! boring? mysterious?) film on Picasso's process, which I saw as a matinee on very cold winter day.