Guggenheim Fellow Greg Miller Exhibits Where The Driveway Ends at Govs

The Governor’s Academy is excited to exhibit the works of American fine art photographer and Guggenheim Fellow Greg Miller in the Peter R. Remis Lobby of the Wilkie Center for the Performing Arts from January 30 through March 27. 

This exhibition, Where The Driveway Ends, features images of children waiting for the bus in their small Connecticut town. It was motivated by the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which took place an hour away from Miller’s home.

“My daughter was the same age as the victims at the time of the shooting. Like much of the world, I was devastated,” said Miller. “Eventually, however, I became disillusioned by our society's inability to cut through the politics and reach the picture of human frailty embodied by the adults and children who were killed that morning.”

A few months after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Miller found himself feeling a strong connection between children’s innocence and the vulnerability of the Sandy Hook victims. His feelings of helplessness moved him to use his camera to capture Connecticut school children at the fragile moment when they step out of their parents' arms and head off to school.

Miller explains, “Like watching a slow-motion home movie, my daughter and I go our separate ways each morning: I see her step aboard the bus with her purple, sparkly backpack, her hair clips, and boots. In order to leave her, I have to somehow believe, in spite of what I read in the morning paper, that things are going to be fine.”

Miller is dedicated to working with an 8×10 view camera and has produced several bodies of personal work over the last 20 years, including Nashville, Unto Dust, County Fair, and Morning Bus, which includes the photographs in this exhibit. Miller’s work has been exhibited in several shows in Los Angeles, Barcelona, Nashville, and New York City. His photographs are part of the permanent collections of the Museum of the City of New York, the George Eastman Museum, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. His work has appeared regularly in advertising and magazines, including TIME, LIFE, NPR, Esquire, Fast Company, and many other publications.

“My child leads a life that begins at the end of our driveway,” shares Miller. “That spot where the school bus stops is a membrane between home and the rest of the world. Children and teenagers stand there, vulnerable and brave, trusting that they are.”

Where The Driveway Ends will be displayed in the Peter R. Remis Lobby in the Wilkie Center for the Performing Arts on The Governor’s Academy campus from January 30 until March 27. Please take some time to experience this moving exhibit. The gallery is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and by appointment on Saturday and Sunday. Please contact Shanna Fliegel to make an appointment.