by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo
There's a relatively new guy in town, and he's already earning his place in the local art community and on the airwaves.
Artist and radio DJ BillyJoe Miller, who moved from Seattle to Albuquerque last July, is showing his paintings and photographs at Winning Coffee Co. through April. Then, he'll move the show to O'Niell's Pub at 4310 Central Ave. S.E. on May 6. His work is also viewable at
BillyJoeMiller.com.
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"I came here because I've always been attracted to New Mexico, and it was one of the places my partner had an offer to become a sociology professor (at UNM)," Miller said. "The first time I came here I was probably, like, 8 years old, and I was on a road trip with my family. I remember getting out of the car and thinking, 'This isn't America - I want to live here. Where is this?' I love thunderstorms and desert and all that."
He's also into moths, and he uses their image in paintings and stencils. He paints with a muted palette of mostly blues, yellows and grays.
"The moth is called the gaudy sphinx, and I just think that's the coolest thing," Miller said. "Most moths aren't as gaudy 'cause that's more of a butterfly's job. I'm into moths 'cause they're a nighttime-butterfly kind of thing. But I'm into both of them mostly 'cause of the whole idea of metamorphosis. I love the idea of personally changing myself in that kind of miraculous way and reaching the top of what I can be."
He prefers making double exposures when he composes photographs.
"I love double exposures because I don't know what I'm going to get," Miller said. "Once you develop it, different things will come to the forefront or not. I just pick which ones really tear me up."
He said double exposures do a good job of capturing the feeling of a place.
"Say, look at this pretty sunset, and if you take pictures of it, it's not even close to anything," he said. "But if you take a picture of the sunset, and you take a picture of the spray paint tag that was on the rock next to you, it captures the feeling of what it was like to be there more. It's not just the sunset - it's how the sunset makes you feel and all the things in your mind and what you're looking at next to your shoe."
He said New Mexico has affected the way he makes art.
"I've been thinking a lot more of abstract designs that are inspired by this place somehow," he said. "That turns into stencils. The other way it's inspired me is Seattle's a much, much bigger city than Albuquerque, and I spent more time with friends and hanging out and going to the city. Now, I've become a little more inward 'cause I haven't made all those friends, and it's been nice to just relax and make art and work on my house."
He also has a radio show on HollowEarthRadio.com on Sundays from 9-10:30 p.m., repeated on Mondays from 4-5:30 p.m.
"It's called 'BillyJoe on the Radio' - that rhymes, by the way," he said. "It's a Northwest radio station, and it's totally incredible. They do a lot of live shows, and they put up a lot of abstract recordings and found sounds and the best indie rock you've ever heard."
The show also plays old-time blues and jazz, and anything else that sounds good.
"They just have the best taste," he said. "I have a big fat library of the greatest music you ever heard. I record friends and little blurbs and abstract things, which I interject in there."
Each weekly show revolves around a theme.
"The last one was called 'Tropical Fish Revival,' and it was kind of like cabaret on the moon," he said. "It's like, if I was on the moon, and someone had a piano, it's kind of what I'd want to hear. 'Tropical Fish Revival' is the name of a song that's on the mix, and I just liked that name. I also do spontaneous mixes, which is just like radio airplay, where you throw up a bunch of different songs."
