Street Life brings a small selection of these photographs together, to place Miller as an observant, visual story teller, whose diverse depictions of twentieth century life, as lived outdoors, brings the viewer compelling historic glimpses of the rituals of human life being played out on communal thoroughfares.
It seems relevant to engage with Miller’s street photographs today, as they not only provide a view of historic happenings on streets many years ago, but they offer comparisons with life on our streets today. In our digital, increasingly insular, age Miller’s captivating images draw our attention to the continued importance of public spaces in our lives, as shared sites of communication and as everyday places to perform many of the fundamental aspects of our lives. Maybe you recently banged a pot on your doorstep in a public act of recognition, or people watched from a café, or witnessed a parade, demonstration or celebration on the street?
Street Life presents Miller’s sensitive, comprehensive catalogue of the multifaceted aspects of human life as lived on the street, and invites us to consider our continued reliance on public sites for communal, inclusive interaction, as we attempt to make sense of, and survive in, our ever-changing world.
