Robert Vigiletti photograph of precast play sculptures taken in 1962
I recently re-discovered the artist Jim Miller-Melberg while researching public sculpture, art, and play spaces. I say ‘re-discovered,’ because I have been familiar with Jim Miller-Melbergs work for most of my life without even realizing it (for more on that topic, read this). Looking at and reading about his playground and park design work, his ideas resonate with my own.
Miller-Melberg was a prolific sculptor, but it is his ‘play-sculptures,’ as he called them, really strike my interest. He was a working artist, a sculptor, creating art… but these particular sculptures were designed for play. From friendly animals, to strange and wonderful structures, Miller-Melberg’s mid-centruy playground design holds a place in the childhood memories of many kids growing up from the 1950s through 2000s.
Castle 
Moon House 
Saddle slide and DNA 
Turtle 
Saddle slide
There are several things I love about these play sculptures, not the least of which is the name. Miller-Melberg calls it what it is: a sculpture designed for play, both fine art and an experience. I like the term ‘play sculptures’ because it grants overt permission to actually interact, climb, and play on the sculptures. Of course, location also matters; placing them in parks, playgrounds, beaches, and other locations meant for activity is a form of tacit permission. However, it’s relatively rare in the realm of public art to be specifically given permission by the artist to interact physically with the art. Miller-Melberg blurs the lines between art and playground design.
Miller-melberg seems to have approached the design of his play-sculptures in a novel way: they are either larger than life animals (always appealing to kids), or strange structures that loosely resemble traditional playground equipment. It almost seems to me as though Miller-Melberg looked at a playground, at how kids use equipment (or mis-use, depending on your perspective), and designed based on that. His strange abstract designs are open ended in their uses, and some even re-imagine traditional playground equipment (like his Saddle Slide). They encourage various uses, and invite play.
A final, important piece of his playground sculptures that I can speak to from personal experience is the texture. Having played on them as a kid (again, more on that over here), the sculptures were very nice to touch. Made of cast concrete, they were smooth without being too slippery, but weren’t rough enough to accidentally skin knees or catch on clothing. Having played on various kinds of parks, from wooden to metal, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of concrete. It feels safe: extremely strong and durable. It’s also interesting because we rarely touch concrete. It’s usually part of a building or a walkway, so touching it with your hands can be a new or rare experience.
I love the idea of creative and artistic play spaces, and I find Jim Miller-Melberg’s play sculptures fascinating and inspiring. They have a strong sense of weirdness and freedom to them that inspires curiosity in me, which is what I think makes them powerful and effective.
To view more of Jim Miller-Melberg’s work (both play sculptures and other works), you can visit his websites:
If you’d like to learn more about Jim Miller-Melburg’s life, work, and exhibitions, check out these articles:
https://www.northernexpress.com/news/feature/article-3567-sculpting-a-life-jim-miller-melberg/
https://www.fastcompany.com/3065009/the-midcentury-sculptor-who-changed-the-way-kids-play