After a bout of severe glaucoma forced Reuben Aaron Miller, a 65‑year‑old farmer and preacher in Rabbittown, Georgia, to abandon the fields, he pivoted to crafting wind‑powered whirligigs from scrap metal and wood.
Miller’s early years were steeped in hardship. His father was shot dead six months before his birth during a land dispute, and he left school at 12 to earn fifty cents per load of firewood at a local cotton mill.
Over two decades, his yard teemed with hundreds of figures—angels, devils, chickens, and even Elvis Presley—each hand‑painted with slogans like "Lord Love You."
In 1986, director James Herbert filmed Miller’s creations for R.E.M.’s short "Left of Reckoning," and the artist’s work later appeared in the band’s "Pretty Persuasion" video, catapulting him into national limelight.
After his death in 2006, institutions such as Brenau University and the Georgia Museum of Art mounted retrospectives, and his pieces now reside in permanent collections across the country, including the Art Museum of Southeast Texas.