Mitch Miller. Natural Selection.

Mitch Miller.  Natural Selection.  On view at Accola Griefen Gallery 12 January through 18 February 2012.  Opening reception Thursday 12 January, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm. 

“There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one: and that whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”  ~Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species, 1859.

Mitch Miller.  Natural Selection Series 3, #6, 2011.

In Natural Selection, creature-like sculptures in reclaimed Styrofoam, perch on pedestals and hang suspended in the air. The largest hanging pieces are literally moving targets. After assembling and painting, the final stage of production involves participants shooting the glacial craters with a bow and arrow. This activity causes the structures to spin, gouges the textured surface and splinters off pieces that are then reassembled to create the smaller-scale works.