ron miriello: 100 worlds project

ron miriello: 100 worlds project
jett gallery, san diego, USA
on now through march 26th, 2011


world 44
shoe soles, leather, plastic metal, rubber, poplar wood
photograph © carl vanderschuit


US and italy -based designer ron miriello's '100 worlds project' began with a simple idea: 'to create for the sake of creating.'
a series of sculptures, rendered into photographic interpretations and now on exhibition at california's jett gallery,
the work became 'a unifying 'story' that invites others [to] contribute and shape a larger vision.'

for the multimodal project, miriello created fifty interpreted globes, using materials that vary from antique pipewrenches
and boat propellers to corrugated cardboard and bowling balls. he then gave the pieces to over forty san diego-based photographers,
each of whom spent at least a week with the world and returned with their personal photographic documentation of the sculpture.
fifty photographic prints thus accompany the fifty handmade 'worlds' in the gallery exhibition, and the entire project process
is documented in the '100 worlds project' exhibition book.

the sculptures themselves explore the possibility of the handmade, and the ways in which assemblages of material
create their own conversations. to realize the project, miriello worked with a number of collaborators,
among them artists, friends, salvage yards, and craftsmen, to produce the 'worlds';
and thus the final works reflect the energy and vision of the entire community.
the photographic prints represent another level of human connection and creative interpretation,
while the gallery exhibition allows the number of 'worlds' on display to multiply ad infinitum
as each viewer engages in his own relationship with each piece.



world 25
stainless steel, repurposed truck innertube, lasercut masonite, laminated paper poster, hexalite packaging, metal hardware
photograph © chris wimpey

in description of 'world 25', miriello explains:

the sherwin williams paint 'cover the earth' logo became a reality in 2010 when the gulf of mexico
was coated and suffocated in oil. the base of this piece is laser cut and engraved.
black rubber stretches taut across the horizon and anchors itself to levels below the surface.'

for 'world 44', the first image of the article, shoes were disassembled and their soles reattached to a wooden sphere.
now, 'tap dancers, businessmen, preachers and streetwalkers share their new life together' in the globe.



world 23
cardboard globes, steel rod, wood
photograph © john trice

in his photograph, john trice multiplied the image of the shattered 'world 23',
providing an example of the ways in which the interpretation of miriello's collaborators
creates another level of viewer interaction and response.



world 24
sculpted plywood, die cut laminated paperboard, 5-pin bowling ball, stainless steel gear chase, brass plumbob
photograph © paul body



world 2
cardboard globes, paint, corrugated cardboard
photograph © cameron okamoto



world 11
maple veneer, die cut paper, aluminum, urethane foam, moss
photograph © mike smith



detail on world 11
photograph © mike smith



world 39
repurposed game boards and game pieces, welded metal, wood
photograph © gary allard

'world 39' began at a californian café when miriello observed a wall of old board games,
visually paralleling his childlike, exploratory impression of the project process.



world 19
wood block type, cigar boxes, repurposed antique pipewrench
photograph © tracy meiners



world 1
measuring caliper, hardbound book, pistonhead base
photograph © ken west

in 'world 1', the sculpture that began what would become miriello's fifty-piece project,
a modified 1950's aerospace caliper is juxtaposed with cut pages from a book on american black history.



world 9
copper and steel wire cable, mahogany
photograph © david harrison



world 46
cardboard globe, manzanita branch, wood
photograph © aaron serafino



world 37
1930's steel globe, lasercut masonite, cable
photograph © john trice



world 17: globe by aaron kramer, base by ron miriello
lasercut wood, streetclear bristles
photograph © garrett patz

the rings of 'world 17' are inscribed with stream-of-consciousness thoughts that reference particular
but non-specific places on the earth, for example, 'i might meet a life-changing person here',
'this place is too small for both of us', and 'the waiter / the bus driver / the new baby'.

'almost like a secret code,' miriello writes, the writings 'create new meaning when aligned to a specific place on the globe.
the alignment with a thought, a place and point in time equals change.'



world 41
boat propeller, architectural shock absorber, lasercut masonite, metal strainers
photograph © mark dastrup



world 15
welded rusted plate steel, stainless steel sphere
photograph © luis garcia



world 28
painted high-density urethane foam, automobile headliner fabric
photograph © cameron okamoto



world 5
cigar box panels, maple plywood, steel I-beam base
photograph © chris wimpey



sketches for world 39



miriello took inspiration and materials for the worlds from a vast range of encounters



the '100 worlds project' exhibition book



video overview of the use of an epilog laser in the construction of several of the project pieces