HUMAN BIRD HOUSE

2008

Displayed in 2008 at the Schuykill Center for Enviornmental Education in Philadelphia, PA, Human Birdhouse is an on-site installation exploring the relationship between nature and an urban environment. 

Miyamori create a large scale tree rubbing collage on the front side of the barn’s wall in conjunction with about twenty five small birdhouses, also covered with her tree rubbings, around the barn. Miyamori wanted to convey the relationship between humans and animals with the juxtaposition of the birdhouses and the barn. In comparison to humans, most animals occupy houses that are proportionate to their own body size, just large enough for them to feel the value of comfortable living without the fear and uncertainty of nature. The exaggerated size of Human Birdhouse in contrast to the relatively small birdhouses hanging on the branches allow for the viewer to understand in a surreal and humorous take upon the relationship between nature and humans

The Washi was secured onto the barn with a wheat paste that can withstand all weather, while also being nontoxic and non-damaging to the barn itself after removal. Miyamori created the rubbings from trees around the installation site with charcoal made from tree bark collected from the Schuykill Environmental Center.

The installation remained through the Fall and Winter, withstanding the snow throughout November. The inclement weather only proved the necessity of shelter, but also showcased the exaggeration of how large the barn was in comparison to a bird and the excess that humans have grown comfortable that held a same purpose as the much smaller birdhouse. 

Imagine Here and There - KOKO to SOKO is the title for Keiko’s installation at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has been doing nature based works for many years, her best known involve floating huge tree roots in clear plastic cubes. For this piece she has made a number of charcoal rubbings from the forest here in the USA, and in her native country of Japan. She brought the drawings made here to Japan and vis versa, hence the title. For the technological part of her show there was a live video broadcast with percussionists Toshi Makihara in Philadelphia and Chikara Miura in Japan.

On May 6, 2007 the opening reception for Green Machine at The Schuylkill Center took place. At approximately 7:45 in the evening on Sunday here, and 8:45 on Monday morning in Japan, percussionists Toshi Makihara and Chikara Miura were ready to create music from opposite sides of our planet. Using mostly sticks and stones, and other natural found objects as instruments, they improvised an original piece of music for the occasion. The performance builds slowly, with the birds sitting in as chorus, and ends in a dynamic climax of percussive energy.

Keiko Miyamori conceived of this idea as the technological part of her exhibition. The title and intent of her exhibition entitled, Imagine Here and There, was played out to a large crowd, amplified by the beautiful natural setting of The Schuylkill Center. To further illustrate her idea of connections, Keiko made a tree rubbing here in Philadelphia at the same time as an artist in Japan.