Rodney McMillian facts for kids

Rodney McMillian was born in 1969 in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a talented artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. McMillian also teaches art as a Professor of Sculpture at the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture. This is part of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Early Life and Art Education

Rodney McMillian grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. His mother worked for a government group that helps people get fair jobs. His father was a bus driver.

McMillian first earned a degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. This means he studied about different countries and how they interact. Later, he decided to focus on art. He went to several art schools, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. In 2002, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts. This is a special degree for artists. While studying, McMillian tried out many different art forms. These included making sculptures, paintings, films, and art installations. An installation is a type of art that uses a whole space or room.

How McMillian Creates Art

McMillian has shared that he wanted to improve how he communicated through his art. He was inspired by the famous musician Prince. Prince was known for being able to play many instruments and control his music's message. McMillian wanted to do the same with his visual art.

In 2019, McMillian had a special art show in Los Angeles called "Brown: videos from The Black Show." It featured several video artworks. These videos were first shown in 2016 at the ICA Philadelphia. Many of his videos were filmed in his home state of South Carolina. Others were shot near Dockery Plantation in Mississippi. Some people believe the Delta blues music style started there.

In McMillian's films, characters wear costumes. They perform songs, political speeches, and even children's stories. He often sets these films in beautiful but wild Southern places. These include moonlit fields and noisy swamps.

McMillian's opera, Hanging With Clarence, was shown for the first time on the West Coast. It was performed at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Compton. His huge art piece called In This Land was displayed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in early 2019. In 2016, he won the first Suzanne Deal Booth Art Prize. This led to his solo art show, Against a Civic Death, in 2018.

One of McMillian's famous works is Succulent from 2010. It is a large piece made of black vinyl. You can see it at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He has called it a "portal to another world." This shows his interest in science fiction writers like Octavia Butler and Samuel R. Delaney.

In September 2020, some of McMillian’s video works were shown. They explored the political history of the United States. This show was called "Rodney McMillian: Historically Hostile" at the Blaffer Art Museum in Houston.

McMillian's 2012 solo show, Prospect Ave, was held in New York. It included sculptures made from found objects. It also featured art made for specific places, videos, and paintings. In 2020, he had another solo painting show called Recirculating Goods. For these paintings, he used latex paint on blankets or crocheted items. He bought these items from thrift stores and antique shops. Sometimes, they still had their price tags on them. These artworks explored how social class and ideas have shaped American landscape paintings. They also looked at how handmade items move through the economy.

Art Shows and Collections

Rodney McMillian's art has been shown in many important places. These include the UCLA Hammer Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. His work has also been displayed at the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York. Other places include the Herning Art Museum in Denmark and the Royal Academy in London. You could also see his art at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art and the Whitney Museum.

McMillian’s artworks are part of several major art collections. These include the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Harald Falckenberg Collection, and the Saatchi Gallery.