If
The Phone Don’t Ring It’s Me
Harland Miller's If The Phone Don’t Ring It’s Me parodies the familiar format of the Penguin classics book covers. Miller’s humour is not only reflected in the sardonic title of the print, but also in the ironic substitution of his name for the author’s name signalling his rise to fame and prolific recognition in the art world.
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Meaning & Analysis
Harland Miller’s If the Phone don’t ring it’s Me, (2008) captures the artist’s signature brazenness that one can’t help but admire. In these prints, Miller takes the familiar format of the Penguin classics and their highly recognisable dust jackets, reinventing them with his own satirical, witty and sometimes controversial titles. (See Miller prints such as Incurable Romantic Seeks Dirty Filthy Whore Now.)
Miller’s humour is not only reflected in the title of the print, but also in the ironic substitution of his name for the author’s on the front cover of the book. Unlike others in the Penguin series, instead of writing his full name here Miller simply writes ‘It’s me,’ - signalling his rise to fame and recognition in the art world. He occasionally also uses other famous writers like Charles Bukowski or Ernest Hemingway, that betray his genuinely keen interest in literature. The Penguin series, which Miller started in 2001 was a pivotal moment in his artistic career and is what the artist is known best for today.
If The Phone Don't Ring It's Me prints employ a layering of colour to achieve their authentic and rugged look, with the edges of the work appearing to be torn, and the spine bent.
