Jennifer Miller (also known as Saint Reverend Jen and Reverend Jen; born July 24, 1972 in
Silver Spring,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
) is an American
performer
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfor ...
, actress, writer,
painter,
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
,
preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...
, and poet residing in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York City.
In 2002, Miller was named the ''Village Voice's'' "Best D.I.Y. Go-Girl" in the category of "Over 21".
Career
Miller formerly wrote the ''I Did It for Science'' column for
nerve.com and writes a column entitled ''Diary of an Art Star'' for
Artnet. She is also associated with several movements and projects that were launched as a response to various popular concepts. Some examples include the ''Anti-Slam'' open mike movement and the ''Mr. Lower East Side Pageant'', with was founded to "counteract the objectification of the female body in art".
Miller has written multiple books such as ''Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood'' and has written for other projects such as ''The Adventures of Electra Elf and Fluffer'', a
low budget Public-access television
Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...
show produced by
Nick Zedd
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
.
Miller helped create the "Art Star" movement of performers, artists, poets, and other individuals centered around the
Lower East Side of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. She has also acted as the founder for several projects, such as the magazine ''Art Star Scene'' and with her former boyfriend Courtney Fathom Sell, co-founded
ASS Studios
Ass most commonly refers to:
* Buttocks (in informal American English)
* Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus''
**any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus''
Ass or ASS may also refer to:
Art and entertainment
* ''Ass'' (album), 1973 alb ...
.
Miller is the curator of the Troll Museum, which collects history, toys, and memorabilia associated with the
Troll doll
A Troll Doll (Danish: ''Gjøltrold'') is a type of plastic doll with furry up-combed hair depicting a troll, also known as a Dam doll after their creator Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam. The inspiration came from trolls in old Scandinavian folklore ...
. The museum closed in 2016, after she was evicted from her rent-controlled apartment.
In 2018, she did an art show called ''Rev Jen's Mid-Career Survey'', which opened at MF Gallery on January 13 and closed on February 13. On one occasion, she showed two of her films, ''Creature Double Feature'' and ''Satan, Hold my Hand''.
Anti-Slam
Miller began the Anti-Slam movement at
Collective: Unconscious in 1995 as a reaction to the
Poetry Slam
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...
movement on the Lower East Side. At a traditional poetry slam, performers are given a score of 1–10 by a panel of five judges, whereas at an Anti-Slam event performers are given a perfect score regardless of the content or quality of their performance.
On October 17, 2007, Miller announced that the then-current performance would be the final anti-slam. The following year, Miller revived the movement as a monthly event.
Filmography
*''
Satan Hold My Hand'' (2013)
*''Blood Possession'' (short 2013)
*''The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway'' (2006)
*''Electra Elf: The Beginning Parts One & Two'' (2005) – directed by
Nick Zedd
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
*''I Was a Quality of Life Violation'' (2004) – directed by
Nick Zedd
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
*''Lord of the Cockrings'' (2002) – directed by
Nick Zedd
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
*''Thus Spake Zarathustra'' (2001) – directed by
Nick Zedd
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
*''Elf Panties: The Movie'' (2001) – – directed by
Nick Zedd
Nick may refer to:
* Nick (given name)
* A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat
* British slang for being arrested
* British slang for a police station
* British slang for stealing
* Short for nickname
Place ...
edited by Andreas Troeger
*''
Terror Firmer'' (1999)
Stage performances
*''Housatrash'' (2000, as Joanie)
Bibliography
*''June'' (2015)
*''Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood'' (2003)
*''Live Nude Elf: The Sexperiments of Reverend Jen'' (2008)
*''Elf Girl'' (2011)
*''BDSM 101'' (2013)
*''Sex Symbol for the Insane''
*''Cliff Notes for Sex Symbol for the Insane''
*''Diary of an Art Star''
*''Magical Elf Panties : A Coloring Book''
*''Elf Panties: Audio-Visual Fun!''
*''Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood/Les Misrahi''
*''Treasuries of the Troll Museum''
*''Being a Supermodel is Cool''
*''Being Different is Cool''
*''Be Careful What You Wish For: A Coloring Book''
*''Beer is Magic''
*''Don't Call Me Rat-Dog!''
*''People Who Don't Like My Work Are Bad People: A Memoir''
*''Reverend Jen's Trip to the Hospital''
*''Reverend Jen Junior Groovee Paper Dolls''
*''Reverend Jen Paper Doll Fun''
Other releases
*''Rev Jen's Greatest Hits'' – Spoken word album (
audio cassette)
*"Don't Call Me Rat Dog" on the compilation album, ''Rachel Trachtenburg's Homemade World''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jen
1972 births
20th-century American painters
21st-century American painters
American women painters
Writers from Manhattan
Living people
Actresses from New York City
American film actresses
People from Silver Spring, Maryland
Performance art in New York City
Film directors from Maryland
American women poets
20th-century American poets
21st-century American poets
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
20th-century American women artists
21st-century American women artists
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Artists from Maryland
Film directors from New York City
Painters from New York City
Painters from Maryland
American women performance artists
American performance artists
American columnists
American women columnists
Journalists from New York City
American women non-fiction writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers