Nicole Miller

Michael in White

Nicole Miller is an artist who works primarily with video and installation to examine the intricate interplay of race, gender, culture, and personal history, while challenging conventional binary notions of contemporary identity. She often uses portraiture as a device to focus on the way that we use storytelling to frame identity. Her recent work has explored ideas of the celebrity as an image, and embodiment as an artistic practice.

Michael in White is a bronze cast of Michael Jackson's kneeling figure painted in white, derived from a fragmented 1987 mold of the late musician's body. Reassembled by Miller, the fractured body and placement on top of a pedestal creates a tension between celebration and denigration. The resulting sculpture is a meditation on celebrity and image: the object-hood of the performer, the dehumanizing effects of the public gaze, the celebrity as a host for contemporary projections, and the implications that this kind of image-making has on all levels of society.

Nicole Miller is an artist who works primarily with video and installation to examine the intricate interplay of race, gender, culture, and personal history, while challenging conventional binary notions of contemporary identity. She often uses portraiture as a device to focus on the way that we use storytelling to frame identity. Her recent work has explored ideas of the celebrity as an image, and embodiment as an artistic practice.

Michael in White is a bronze cast of Michael Jackson's kneeling figure painted in white, derived from a fragmented 1987 mold of the late musician's body. Reassembled by Miller, the fractured body and placement on top of a pedestal creates a tension between celebration and denigration. The resulting sculpture is a meditation on celebrity and image: the object-hood of the performer, the dehumanizing effects of the public gaze, the celebrity as a host for contemporary projections, and the implications that this kind of image-making has on all levels of society.

Nicole Miller is an artist who works primarily with video and installation to examine the intricate interplay of race, gender, culture, and personal history, while challenging conventional binary notions of contemporary identity. She often uses portraiture as a device to focus on the way that we use storytelling to frame identity. Her recent work has explored ideas of the celebrity as an image, and embodiment as an artistic practice.

Michael in White is a bronze cast of Michael Jackson's kneeling figure painted in white, derived from a fragmented 1987 mold of the late musician's body. Reassembled by Miller, the fractured body and placement on top of a pedestal creates a tension between celebration and denigration. The resulting sculpture is a meditation on celebrity and image: the object-hood of the performer, the dehumanizing effects of the public gaze, the celebrity as a host for contemporary projections, and the implications that this kind of image-making has on all levels of society.

Nicole Miller

Nicole Miller

Michael in White

Exhibition

Exhibition

Materials & Dimensions

Materials & Dimensions

White patinated bronze

42 x 15 1/2 x 22 inches

Year

Year

2022

Site

Site

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Credits

Credits

Courtesy of the artist and Kristina Kite Gallery, Los Angeles.

Isamu Noguchi

Octectra (two-element column)

Isamu Noguchi

Octectra (two-element column)

Isamu Noguchi

Octectra (two-element column)

Isamu Noguchi

Octetra (five-element pyramid)

Isamu Noguchi

Octetra (five-element pyramid)

Isamu Noguchi

Octetra (five-element pyramid)

Erika Verzutti

Venus Yogini

Erika Verzutti

Venus Yogini

Erika Verzutti

Venus Yogini

thank you

To our generous sponsors, partners, collaborators, and supporters who make our work possible.

Founding & Sustaining
Sponsors

* indicates both Founding and sustaining founding sponsor

Anonymous
Donna & Donald Baumgartner*
Black Box Fund
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
Susan & Mark Irgens*
Mellowes Family*
Sue & Bud Selig*
Julie & David Uihlein*
Lacey Sadoff Foundation

presenting

Collaborator

Betty Arndt
City of Milwaukee Arts Board
Good Karma Brands

leader

Anonymous
Heil Family Foundation
Godfrey & Kahn

Exhibition Partner

Visionary

George & Karen Oliver

sculpture

Wayne & Lori Morgan

Connector

BMO
Foley & Lardner
Hawks Landscaping
Open Pantry
PNC Bank
PwC
Russ Darrow Group
Town Bank
US Bank
WeycoGroup

Sculpture Milwaukee is always free and open to the public thanks to our generous supporters.

We work with trusted community partners to ensure great contemporary art is accessible to all.

Colophon

© 2025 Sculpture Milwaukee

thank you

To our generous sponsors, partners, collaborators, and supporters who make our work possible.

Founding & Sustaining
Sponsors

* indicates both Founding and sustaining founding sponsor

Anonymous
Donna & Donald Baumgartner*
Black Box Fund
Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation
Herb Kohl Philanthropies
Herzfeld Foundation
Hoke Family Foundation
Susan & Mark Irgens*
Mandel Groups*
Mellowes Family*
Sue & Bud Selig*
Julie & David Uihlein*
Lacey Sadoff Foundation

presenting

Collaborator

Betty Arndt
City of Milwaukee Arts Board
Good Karma Brands

leader

Anonymous
Heil Family Foundation
Godfrey & Kahn

Exhibition Partner

Visionary

Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation

sculpture

Wayne & Lori Morgan

Connector

BMO
Foley & Lardner
Hawks Landscaping
Open Pantry
PNC Bank
PwC
Russ Darrow Group
Town Bank
US Bank
WeycoGroup

Sculpture Milwaukee is always free and open to the public thanks to our generous supporters.

We work with trusted community partners to ensure great contemporary art is accessible to all.

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Colophon

© 2025 Sculpture Milwaukee