Incredible 'Exploded Circuits' of Mechanisms by Artist John Peralta

Admit that in childhood you at least once took apart some mechanism to see how it works. And not only in childhood — many are guilty of this even as adults. It is not always possible to put the device back together, and even if it is possible, it may not work. American artist and sculptor John Peralta makes such exploration of the surrounding world safe. He himself takes apart various mechanisms down to the smallest detail to show them to the viewer in the form of stunning explosion-proof diagrams.

The first exploded diagrams, or as they are also called, "disassembled drawings", appeared in the 15th century. They were used to visually demonstrate their inventions by Francesco di Giorgio and Leonardo da Vinci. These diagrams help to better understand the structure of the mechanism, the principle of its operation and the system of interaction of individual units and parts.

The visualization method invented in the Middle Ages is still actively used today. It has been adopted by many famous brands, such as IKEA and LEGO. The instructions for these companies' products are built on the principle of exploded diagrams. But "exploded views" are not only educational, but also simply beautiful. Especially if they are not on paper, but presented in three dimensions. This is the method used in his creations by US sculptor John Peralta.

The idea of creating works of art from mechanisms came to Peralta in 2005. He was traveling through the countries of the Far East region and accidentally saw a photo of an exploded diagram of an ordinary bicycle in a magazine. It struck the American with its fragile beauty and gave birth to many creative ideas in John's head.

John Peralta is a descendant of New Mexico Governor Don Pedro de Peralta, who founded the city of Santa Fe, the state capital, in 1610. John was born and raised in the countryside, where he often had to create or repair things with his own hands. Since childhood, he repaired radios, tape recorders, and car engines, learning how to work them on his own.

John Peralta's second passion was drawing. But he created in a special style, similar to technical drawing. With pencil and charcoal, he created paintings similar to the illusion paintings of the famous Dutchman Maurits Escher and Canadian Rob Gonsalves. Having grown up, John received a good education and became a successful businessman.

He founded the consulting firm Global Philanthropic, which works in the field of strategic management in the field of education. His firm collaborates with many universities around the world. Peralta also served for many years as the executive director of international relations at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Despite his busy schedule, Peralta continued his hobby and drew wherever he could. And after seeing explosion diagrams, they completely captured his imagination. He began to transform mechanisms into three-dimensional explosion diagrams, hanging parts in a certain sequence.

Today, John Peralta's creations are admired all over the world. His most famous series of works is called Mechanations. It includes vintage devices and mechanisms, including Bolex movie cameras, Rolleiflex cameras, Singer sewing machines and Hammond Multiplex typewriters.

John enjoys not only the process of working on the next composition, but also the search for materials. He describes it very romantically:

"Here is a strange, vaguely familiar thing, broken and pushed under a table in a mossy junk shop. I found it sleeping under a pile of similar useless objects, counting the time by the layer of accumulated dust. The instrument, once so sure, feels too fragile when I take it from its accustomed place."

After the item is purchased, the artist takes it apart in his workshop and evaluates the condition of the parts. Peralta painstakingly restores worn or damaged elements. Then the master hangs the parts in strict order so that the viewer can clearly see how the item is constructed and which parts interact with each other.

Most of Peralta's masterpieces are made from antiques. But the artist doesn't put himself in any particular box. His collection also includes relatively modern pieces, such as a Sony cassette player from the 1980s.

John has placed miniature figures of people on its parts. They are busy with simple things that were once done to the music from such boomboxes: dancing, playing basketball, riding bicycles and even filming porn.

John Peralta's art shows that even ordinary things can hide amazing beauty when viewed from a different angle. Would you like to take something apart to see its internal structure? Maybe you already have such an experience? Share in the comments!