After at least 12 semesters spent as a Professor of figure drawing here at City College, there’s no questioning whether Jeff Miller knows his stuff about art.
Figure drawing, City College’s Art 123 class, is one of the most challenging, two-dimensional art classes available on campus, according to Miller.
“It’s a lot of effort, but students are really going to get some of their best work done right here in this class,” Miller said.
The class focuses strongly on the balance between what it is that these artists are drawing, and how they go about drawing it.
Miller puts a great emphasis on being interested in the subject of one’s artwork, and wanted to know, “what could be more interesting than us?”
Marisa Garcia, a student in Miller’s figure drawing class, is currently taking several art classes and trying to develop a portfolio, and has grown accustomed to the style of teaching she finds in Art 123.
“I really like the class,” she said. “It’s very laid back easy going…he (Miller) lets you go at your own pace.”
This laid back style of teaching is something that Miller takes pride in, having always had what he calls a “romantic notion of what is to teach and learn.”
“His classes can be rough, there is tons and tons of anatomy,” said student Robert Carone who is considering an art major. “But he’s cool and he knows what he’s doing… you can definitely see his experience in his demonstrations.”
Miller pointed out that his students are always asking for an approach from a different style and he has no problem catering to what they need.
Animators, fashion designers and still life artists tend to frequently enroll in Miller’s figure drawing classes.
“We talk about form and function,” Miller said. “We look at how the body reacts to athleticism, dance, walking, running, and all of the preconceived notions we have about how the body moves or even stands.”
And while a lot of actual drawing happens throughout each five-hour class period, it is also a lecture intensive course.
“A lot of people want to get straight to drawing,” said student Danusia Young. “But it is very important to know all of this.”
Miller spends a lot of time every class period showing the relationship between every part of the human anatomy the students will be working on that day.
“There is a lot to know, but [Miller] managed to make a five hour class in which you can keep from getting bored,” added Young.
Myrina Tumberg, one of the nude models, said she took the job because besides the money being good, she wanted to make a conceptual piece about embracing her body.
She has been modeling at City College for about two months and said she has never once had any problems with it.
“Students get to just be who they are in this class,” said Miller. “It’s not manipulative, it’s very adult. We keep it informal and challenging.”
