CITY ROOT
2001, 2004, 2006
In the Spring of 2001 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Keiko Miyamori found the inspiration for a series she would call City Root. The Cambridge Plaza Housing Project in North Philadelphia was demolished to make space for a new residential development and with its demolition came the debris of brick, and building, however also the uprooting of trees around the area. Alongside the building debris were bulldozed trees that still had tangled remnants of concrete within their long roots.
Cityroot 2006 Resin, Root, Debris, Brick 84 x 78 x 67 in.
The root that became known as the original City Root was originally a large oak tree that stood at the corner of Girard and 11th street with the roots spanning 6ft in diameter. When Miyamori first saw the large root during the demolition of the housing project, she was absorbed by the strength of the tree that had once majestically stood with its complex root map and its overarching canopy. Within the root were pieces of brick, glass, and metal that the tree had found strength to wrap itself around and persevere to continue its spread. It was striking to Miyamori to see the tree that still grew to that size despite the obstacles Man had left behind. To Miyamori, the tree represented the energy of the city— the life of a tree in the city, and the life of the city in a tree.
Miyamori preparing to mold the Cityroot in Allentown, PA, 2006
Miyamori then received a grant by placing first in the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Competition in 2004 to develop the sculpture that would harness the root in a massive resin cube so that it would be able to be shown outdoors at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Garden. Due to scale of the sculpture and slightly reduced volume of resin, part of the cube developed cracks that were too fragile to be presented in an outdoors garden. To Miyamori, these cracks represent nature breaking free from its artificial constraints. Miyamori’s goal was to share the root and display the treasure that she had discovered, with other people. Its final weight was 20,000lbs, and stands at a 7’ x 6.5’ x 5.6’ cube.
Cityroot (detail) 2006 Resin, Root, Debris, Brick 84 x 78 x 67 in.
CITY ROOT CUBE SERIES
2006 - 2012
In the wake of the City Root project, Miyamori made smaller scale cubes as experiments to understand the chemical reaction of the polymers of the resin with the natural material of a tree root, and the air bubbles formed. She developed a series of suspended roots in resin, exploring the relationship between nature and its artificial restraints.
While experimenting for her City Root project, Keiko Miyamori first used Broken Typewriter: “yes, you can.” to test if the resin would react with the organic material inside it, which in this case was the Washi fiber encompassing the object. Five years after the completion of City Root, due to an overwhelmingly positive response, she decided to expand the concept to part of her series Typewriter - Energy, embedding them in resin cubes. The bubbles visible in the art work, were an unpredictable reaction to the process, as the material in the cube was organic in nature.
CityRoot #1 2006 Tree Root, Resin 13 ½ x13 ½ x 12 in.
Typewriter #5 “I am here.” 2012 Charcoal, Washi, Typewriter, Resin 13 ¾ x 13 ¾ x 11 ½ in.
“I am Here” refers to an enigma: the moment she declares, “I am here,” in the present, that moment becomes the past and she is no longer here. Instead, she was there, in that place at that specific moment in time. The ‘K’ and ‘O’ are left unwrapped, for “koko’ meaning ‘here’ in Japanese.
Broken Typewriter: “yes, you can.” 2006 Charcoal, Washi, Typewriter, Resin 13 ½ x 13 ½ x 11 in.
The first work in the series, originally titled Broken Typewriter, was shipped to Keiko from Japan. The journey had left the typewriter broken and barely functioning. It was retitled Broken Typewriter: “yes, you can” as written on the paper as it was able to still print words.
Typewriter #2 “I was defeated, yet....” 2012 Typewriter, Washi, Charcoal, Resin 13 ¾ x 13 ¾ x 11 in.
Each typewriter contains a hidden message within its keys, of what is left unwrapped. and within the sheet of paper in the feed. The bubbles form and rise from the reaction between the natural washi and the chemical polymers used for the resin. Though artificial, within the resin the bubbles and ink seem to bloom as if they were alive.
Typewriter #3 “I once was on top of this tree.” 2012
Typewriter, Washi, Charcoal, Resin
13 ¾ x 13 ¾ x 12 in..
Typewriter #4 “Cling to its surface.” 2012
Typewriter, Washi, Charcoal, Resin
13 ¾ x 13 ¾ x 11 in.
“I was once on top of this tree” was made with rubbings from a 60-metre samauma tree in the Amazon that she climbed to the top of. The height allowed her to see and feel the breathing of the rainforest below as she peered over the treetops, connecting with everything around her. The ink ribbon was prepared to release its pigment during the casting process.