Jim Miller-Melberg is a mid-century sculptor famous for his sculptural concrete playground and park works (more on that topic here). Looking at his work, I realized that I actually have a very personal connection to it: I played on his playground sculptures as a child. My elementary school had several of his pieces as part of our playground, including a turtle and a castle.
Let me give you some background on my elementary school. It was an old building, likely built in the 60s or 70s, with a playground to match. That playground had some of the best stuff: Jungle gyms that went 15 feet high, monkey bar sets with tons of bars both high and low, the like of which you can’t find anymore. (To be fair, I can remember quite a few fellow students who broke wrists or arms by falling from those bars–the liability was real. But man, were they amazing to play on as a kid!) This playground from the past also boasted two of Jim Miller-Melberg’s play sculptures, the Turtle and the Castle. Unfortunately, the school building and playground no longer exist, having been demolished and a new building erected before I graduated high school. I don’t know what happened to the sculptures.
The sculptures themselves have very distinct memories for me. The turtle and a smaller version of the Castle were on the mini playground set aside for younger classes, while the larger playground had the taller, full version of the Castle. These pieces of playground equipment were great, and well loved by all the students. It was often a race to see who would get to play on the castle, and who would have to play somewhere else.
The turtle would often become someone’s friend, or a cave to hide under, or a valiant steed in whatever games we would play. The castle (which we lovingly referred to as ‘the cheese’) had even greater possibilities. The design allowed for, and encouraged, climbing it, hiding in it, looking out the windows — It could be a house, a castle, a fort, a mountain. The possibilities were endless. It was the type of structure that, unlike many of today’s playgrounds, had no one specific purpose, and was thus good for all of them.
Personally I love the design of the castle; It re-imagines classic playground structures, embraces the weird, and allows the imagination to decide what to do with it. It doesn’t prescribe a particular style of play, or telegraph a purpose. I think that’s what is so powerful about these play structures; they are what they are, and it’s up to the viewer to decide what to do with it. It is unapologetically a sculpture, but it asks you to play on it.
To view more of Jim Miller-Melberg’s work (both play sculptures and other works), you can visit his websites:
http://jimmillermelbergsculptor.com/
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