Jazz Workshop
Craig Anthony Miller, a.k.a CAM (Brooklyn, b. 1971)
Materials: Acrylic, graphite, canvas, sheet metal
Dated: 2005
Dimensions: 17.5” X 28.5”
(Signed to front lower left and reverse)
Contemporary Dumbo-based artist Craig Anthony Miller, better known by his moniker CAM, captures the expressionist energy and spontaneity of New York City’s timeless jazz scene in this mixed-media work. Depicted is a double bass guitar, abstracted in the manner distinct to CAM employing bright colors and thick outlines, which he cited as inspired by the vivid omnipresence of urban street art as well as stained glass windows of Brooklyn’s historic churches from his youth. Surrounding the bass is a frenzy of free form lines and words, most prominently lauding the great mid-century bassist, bandleader and composer Charles Mingus; as per it’s namesake, the ‘workshop’ combines organic movement, improvisation and collaborating elements, painted against a rough canvas applied to raw cut metal. This piece was produced sometime prior to his first solo exhibition at the Jazz Gallery in 2006 (then located in SoHo)*, evoking the cultural and emotional importance of this iconic genre of music in the artist’s body of work and personal life.
Since earning his BFA in Graphic Design from Saint John’s University in Queens**, CAM began his full-time career as a painter and muralist, curating private solo exhibitions and large-scale public projects throughout New York’s widespread boroughs. He is recognized as the driving force behind many collaborative street art projects, decorating numerous walls throughout Brooklyn within the past two decades. In 2009, CAM co-founded the 303 Collective***, notable that same year for the famous Water Street Wall, depicting brilliantly stylized animals and fantastical figures, followed by co-founding the group DUMBO Walls in 2012****, their murals, including Massive Stampede produced in 2018*****, stretching along the BQE. This dedication to his community and dream made physical, bringing color and beauty to the otherwise gray and linear urban landscape, has continued into the present, with the massive undertaking of Nature Celebration, produced in 2019 alongside the non-profit Sacred Arts Research Foundation******.
SOLD – Private SoHo collection
G: https://www.instagram.com/craig_anthony_miller/?hl=en
Website: https://dumbo.is/hometo/craig-anthony-miller-studio
*https://www.charitybuzz.com/categories/75/catalog_items/207126
**https://findwhatsrare.com/blog/2016/8/5/rare-talks-cam-brooklyn-artist
****https://www.twotreesny.com/about-us/art-and-community/dumbo-walls