MIXED MEDIA:
MICHAEL O Written by
Janet Verdeguer
Graphic Design by Lisa Collins
Michael Oguns, aka Michael O, is at once sculptor,
engineer, artist, manufacturer, designer
and a lot of
other things. In the past two decades he has segued
smoothly from acrylic into metal into upholstery into
bronze casting. In the spring of 1994 he will introduce
wood, the latest in his ongoing cycle of mixed media.
Born into a middle-class farming community in Akure,
Nigeria, Michael Oguns came to study in America at the
age of 20 in 1972 because, "America is the place where
everybody else in the world wants to come and if you
have always lived here, you don't realize how life in
America is valued around the world."
In the ensuing years, America has embraced him with
success and challenged him with the setbacks. With high
energy, always reaching for the sky and simply never
giving up, he has survived the setbacks and enjoyed
his
successes.
He has also become an invaluable resource for interior
designers and architects, many of whom know Michael only
through his work-in acrylic in the early '80s and in
fine art and furnishings formed from stainless steel
and bronze, as displayed today in his DCOTA showroom and
the Betty M showroom in Chicago's Merchandise Mart.
That's all the notoriety this proud yet modest
41-year-old artisan wants. He's happiest in his dirty,
noisy shop, wearing his oldest work clothes, his working
man's hands guiding sheets of stainless steel through
the sharp blades of Benshaw rolling saw. He's
most content sending the
resulting pieces through massive rollers which form sensuous
curves in the unpolished raw metal. The process
continues until as many as 40 separate pieces are welded
together. Electro-plated or polished to a mirror finish,
they become a limited-edition, signed masterpiece from
Michael O.
He didn't know it then, but the beginning of his
lifelong penchant for creative design began with early
efforts while he was growing up in Nigeria
- bicycles,
bird cages of wood that he would sell to his friends,
jewelry ... even hairstyle designs for the local barber!
After earning degrees in structural engineering and
building estimating from Nigerian Polytechnic in 1970,
he headed to Washington, D.C, where he lasted six
months. It wasn't culture shock or the difficulty of
studies at the university. "It was just too cold!" he
laughs.
Following the sun to Miami, Michael attended Miami Dade
Community College, eventually earning a degree in
architectural technology from Florida International
University.
Inspiration for his future direction came from 40th
Street, where, as a result of a product design award
from NHFL (now IFDA), Michael was immediately drawn
to
the contemporary furniture of the '70s. His design
concepts seemed perfect for lucite or acrylic, which
were enjoying the height of popularity. After visiting
major acrylic manufacturers to select one to produce his
designs, the naive and impulsive young Michael decided,
not for the last time, that it looked easy enough and
he
would be better off not working for someone else. He
decided to buy his own machinery.
Working as a nurse, often on 24-hour shifts, within a
year he had earned the $10,000 needed to get started.
"You know, I was so into purchasing those machines for
so long. Then one day," he chuckles, "I don't know what
to do or how to use them!"
When he found an acrylic technician willing to work for
him, he immediately rented a small bay on Northeast 2nd
Avenue in Miami, which has been Michael O's studio
headquarters for 18 years.
Soon, ideas that were in his mind were being transformed
into acrylic furniture and accessories under the label
Michael O.
"Well," recalls Michael, "it wasn't exactly as easy as
that. The guy would work eight-hour shifts making the
designs. But I was still working night shifts at the
hospital so that I could earn the money to pay him. This
went on for about two years, until he quit-because
things weren't progressing fast enough!
"So I closed the shop, knowing that I had to learn to
work with the machinery myself. From then on, I knew
that I had to know what I was doing before I could hire
somebody else to do my work.
"And this is where my life really changed around.
Because once I got involved with each of the machines, I
realized I loved the process of actually creating my
designs myself."
He also had to be his own sales rep. Michael recalls: "I
would sit at my desk and look through the yellow
pages, calling interior designers and decorators all day long.
And somehow, one by one, they saw the ability that I
had and this is how I built up my trade, until I opened
my showroom on 40th Street."
In 1980 the Miami riots set Michael back. His shop was
looted, everything taken-a loss of more than $70,000.
"That day they destroyed my place. Yet, in a way," says
Michael, "it was just a way to make me better. I think
that even if you have a major setback, if you have a
goal in mind, you keep on wanting to pursue that goal
and forget about the past."
Within two weeks, working 16-hour days, he was back up
and operating.
But the riots were a harbinger of more tough times to
come. Along with many other 40th Street merchants,
Michael O experienced the incredible boom followed by
the incredible bust-due to a combination of the U.S.
economy, the drug trade, the South American economy,
and the building of Marvin Danto's DCOTA in Dania in
1985.
"After almost five years, I had closed my showroom in
Miami because things kept getting worse and worse,"
Michael recalls. "Since I had already decided that I was
going to change directions into metal, I did the same
thing I did when I started with lucite. I started buying
machinery and teaching myself how to weld. Then I taught
myself how to polish. And little by little, slowly but
surely, I was fully equipped and able to work in metal.
"With the switch to metal, I decided I was going into
the DCOTA. With the help of some of my friends and by
building everything myself-the platform, the floor, the
display niches-I opened that showroom on a shoestring in
1989."
Today, DCOTA Suite B-380 houses Michael O's tables,
chairs, cabinetry, lighting, sculptures, accessories,
and hardware.
Now, once more sensing the need to expand to a new
medium, he has developed a line of products combining
metal with wood. But his approach to diversification
hasn't changed. After exploring avenues to have others
add woodwork and finishes to his metal pieces, Michael
failed to find the right source and has spent the last
year amassing state-of-the-art woodworking equipment.
He explains: "I have a driving need to complete a cycle.
The addition of wood to my existing line is a natural
progression. It also thrusts our company into the
mainstream in terms of product designs. Michael O will
now challenge the more transitional and traditional
manufacturers on a design level because of our ability
to manufacture with wood."
The woodworking cycle is being added simultaneously with
a lifelong dream of owning his own factory. He has
purchased two structures just blocks away from his
Northeast 2nd Avenue location. Combined, they will be a
state-of-the-art factory where all fabrication-including
metal, wood, acrylic, plating, and lacquer finishing,
from inception to finishing touches-are done on the
premises.
How does his new line of products differ from his
existing designs? "First, I'll tell you how they're the
same," he responds. "Both lines are unorthodox,
daring, and futuristic. My signature elements will
complement the woodworks just like they do my metals.
However, the nature of wood is warmer and softer than
metal, so by the sheer nature of the elements, my pieces
have taken a design turn. These pieces are more
conventional without losing the boldness that identifies
all of my work."
For the future, he sees "an expanded version of Michael
O, both in product development and distribution. I
envision a line of licensed housewares and designer
hardware, and the home furnishings products will be
represented in New York, Dallas, Atlanta, and L.A., as
well as Miami and Chicago. I have big plans."
Asked why he insists on designing, developing,
manufacturing, and distributing his own products,
Michael responds, "I need to control every aspect of the
process. When I'm forced to send work outside, I lose
the influence and control that I need to maintain
credibility. I spend a tremendous amount of time inside
my factory, experimenting with methods of manufacturing,
forms, details, and finishes. That time is really a
luxury that many designers cannot have. With the
showroom, I can place a new product and get immediate
market reaction."
In the time it takes to drive from Miami to Dania, one
makes the transition from the grease and dust of the
factory to the sparkling Michael O showroom. But it is
necessary to do in order to fully understand this
artisan. "To take a raw material and, out of that, to
fashion something extraordinary and beautiful,
fascinates artists. This is what keeps us going,"
explains Michael. "You go in there, get in the dust and
get dirty and then come out with something that
isglittering.
"It's all growth," says Michael, who hopes to be growing
and changing until he surpasses the age of 100. "I've
been able to hang in there for a long time. And if you
are able to hang in there," he laughs, "one of these
days you are bound to achieve something." We can only
anticipate what medium he will choose next.
"You go in there, get in the dust and get dirty and then
come out with something that isglittering."
