Tom Miller (1945–2000) was a master multidisciplinary artist. He created colorful, whimsical, and humorous screenprints, murals, and sculptures from discarded furniture he found around Baltimore City.

He named his style "Afro-Deco" to describe how he seamlessly merged influences from his childhood and the Art Deco Style in the 1930s. Miller completely covered his three-dimensional canvases with bright paint, flat compositions, and stylish adornments like bells, tassels, and shoes. He drew inspiration from African American stereotypes, moments in history, African proverbs, and notable Americans like Billie Holiday.

“I’ve always been interested in furniture and I went junk shopping all the time.” Miller's family was supportive of his collecting and artistic practices. However, it was his family's annual ritual of repainting furniture as a part of spring cleaning that most inspired him. “[The fact] that most of my pieces are functional also lends itself to the African concept that art should be functional,” wrote Miller for his masters thesis.

Many of Miller’s ideas also grew from his collection of Black memorabilia. Black memorabilia produced in Europe had a “different flavor than their American counterparts.” Vintage prints and toys depicting African Americans in a positive light were few and far between, however, Miller had several in his collection. The figurines depicted Black features and lifestyles attractively and realistically. Miller's collection got him thinking that when these figures were removed from their original social context they could be portrayed in a positive light and even used to make satirical comments on society.

The artist’s Mama’s Little Rock and Roll Baby (1991) consists of a rocking chair wearing party shoes and socks. The rocker and chair-back reference a bright red, juicy slice of watermelon. The chair references the racist American and European memorabilia Tom Miller collected of pickaninnies eating watermelons and Black children being fed to alligators. A gazelle runs across the chair’s seat, while a row of bells is attached to it, that jingle when moved.

Miller’s painted furniture caused a sensation in the city’s art scene after he sold every piece that was presented for his graduate thesis show at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 1987. He was immediately signed and represented by a gallery. His work was shown at major museums and galleries across the country. Private collectors and curators would wait years to acquire one of his painted pieces.

Miller’s work is much like his personality–fun, playful, humorous, and witty. However, after the death of his partner and his own HIV diagnosis, the realities of his mortality became part of his everyday experience. His obituary notes that Miller would find old, broken-down furniture pieces and "hide their hurt" with layer upon layer of glossy, often electric-colored paint on the surface along with animal print fabrics and faux fur upholstered seats.

Knocking on Heaven’s Gate (1997) explicitly represents the final chapter of Miller’s battle with AIDS. The single wooden rocking chair orients the viewer upward looking towards the heavens. The chair’s seat depicts an evening sky with fluffy, white, and blue clouds–partially obstructed by a green tree with pink flowers. The rocker and chair-back reference pearly white gates of heaven shining brightly. The arms are painted bright yellow with small red polka dots. The black, yellow, white, and red ribbed segments, as well as the checkerboard pattern, represent the state flag of his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland; but more significantly the artist’s final resting place.

Two years after this successful debut, in 1990, Miller was diagnosed with AIDS and passed away in 2000 due to AIDs related complications.

He was 45 years old.

At-A-Glance

  • History

    Tom Miller Day was declared by Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke in 1995 after the artist became the first African-American from the city to receive a solo exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art. While Miller's whimsical charm is evident in murals and museums throughout the city, the second event commemorating his legacy was not organized until 2021 when Blackives, LLC revived and extended the Day by presenting Tom Miller Week.

  • 3rd Annual Celebration

    The Third Annual Tom Miller Week will take place on February 12th–18th, 2023 at the University of Baltimore's Robert L. Bologolmony Library and Black Artist Research Space. Festivities will include an auction, exhibition, tours, talks, and community art-making activities. The highlight of the week will be an exhibition of salvaged furniture donated by Second Chance and painted by Baltimore-based artist Gary Mullen and students from Miller’s alma mater Carver Vocational Technical High School. The pieces will be auctioned off on February 18th, Tom Miller Day, with proceeds going towards an art scholarship created in Tom Miller's honor for young artists at Carver VoTech.

  • Carver VoTech High School

    The Colored Vocational School, now Carver, was established in 1925 to train and equip Black youth for immediate employment and entrepreneurship after grade school because Black youth were not awarded the same opportunities as White students. The Vocational School attracted students from all over the city. It offered classes in automotive repair, carpentry, dressmaking, shoe repair, design, and more! The school continues to educate and empower Black leaders of the future, yet they are still greatly underserved and unrecognized for their history and contributions to the city of Baltimore.

  • Cr8tive Expression

    This collective consists of 10 young artists passionate about pursing a career in art and design.

    The painted pieces will be auctioned off at the University of Baltimore on February 18th, Tom Miller Day, with proceeds going towards an art scholarship for the participating artists. The students will also have a group exhibition at Black Artist Research Space.

    Blackives, LLC hopes to establish and sustain a partnership with Carver VoTech with this initial collaboration. We are working diligently to raise monies for the students.

  • Gary Mullen

    Gary Mullen is a Baltimore-based artist known for his Afri-cubism, style of flat colors, sculptures, and simplified shapes. Like Tom Miller, Mullen is inspired by the city, its rich Black history, and his experiences. He is a Fine Arts graduate from Morgan State University. Mullen is currently a resident artist at MotorHouse.

Venues

  • Univ. of Baltimore RLB Library

    1420 Maryland Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201

    The exhibition of painted furniture by the students will take place inside the Library's Glass Hall event space. The exhibition will be the first for the Library. Former Mayor Kurt Schmoke, who declared Tom Miller Day in 1995, is the current University President.

  • Black Artist Research Space (BARS)

    426 W Franklin St, Baltimore, MD 21201

    Black Artist Research Space (BARS) is a creative collective that presents collaborations between artists. BARS will feature artwork from the Cr8tive Expression. The space is operated by Curator Rhea Beckett.

  • Carver VoTech High School

    2201 Presstman St, Baltimore, MD 21216

    Painted furniture will be displayed the high school. Programming, exclusive to the Carver Community, is being developed.

Sponsors

  • Second Chance, Inc.

    Second Chance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides people, materials, and the environment with a second chance. They deconstruct buildings and homes, salvage usable materials, and make those and other donated items available to the public for reuse at their more than 200,000-square-foot retail center. With the revenue generated, they provide job training and workforce development for those with various employment obstacles in the Baltimore region. Second Chance has donated about $600 worth of furniture to Tom Miller Week. Second Chance has donated more than $600 worth of furniture to Tom Miller Week.

    www.secondchanceinc.org

  • Black Baltimore Digital Database

    Black Baltimore Digital Database (BBDD) is a collaborative counter–institutional space for collecting, storing and safekeeping the data of local archival initiatives, from the more traditional to the experimental. BBDD will foreground archival projects that feature rich and underrecognized contributions of Black folks in and around Baltimore, Maryland, and provide access, engagement and a sense of agency to citizens, neighbors and visitors.

    BBDD will eventually be housed in Waverly of Baltimore, MD, in proximity to the public library, the Johns Hopkins University campus, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Near the project site is The Last Resort Artist Residency—also initiated by Derrick Adams.