Posting as part of the My Mini Monday series. A occasionally weekly feature where I discuss all things miniature, outside of the realm of my own miniature photographic scenes.
Why are we so fascinated with miniatures? What makes miniatures useful in artistic work?
These thoughts and others explored through snippets from a variety of artists/articles as cited at the end of this post.
Click on an image to open the gallery in full screen.
Feel free to share these quote images, just give credit to the original source as referenced on each image.
“It’s that escape into the world of miniatures that seems to make us long for where we can’t go, or lives we can’t live. – Anything but child’s play, Magical world of Miniatures, CBS News
“What does it say about us as human beings that we are so captivated with something that we can’t really play with, we can’t really touch, we can just see a tiny little window into this world?…It is that window in the world, it is that longing. I think with these it’s longing for another time and another place…” – Anything but child’s play, Magical world of Miniatures, CBS News
“It’s an allure that is timeless and ageless, just like the dollhouses…” Anything but child’s play, Magical world of Miniatures, CBS News
“And that’s the enduring power of miniatures. Whether it’s dollhouses or on-square-foot dream homes that cap off the exhibit, powerful emotions come out of small spaces — even if your imagination has to go out on a limb.” – Anything but child’s play, Magical world of Miniatures, CBS News
“Miniatures serve as iconographic objects. Not real people, places or things, but simplistic versions of such. This allows for abstracted views of reality. The perfect medium for creating visual representations of memories and emotions – abstractions of reality within themselves.” – Jennifer Nichole Wells
“It always seemed to me that the miniature was the most effective solution to experiencing visions of worlds and new perspectives that otherwise could not be achieved in life. As a photographer my dioramas are simply a means to an end. They give me the ultimate ability to control my environments while satisfying a need to simply work with my hands.” – Matthew Albanese, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“In my experience, working at a small scale invites viewers into a personal, intimate relationship with the piece. At the same time, the very nature of small scales keeps us at a distance, unable to fully ‘enter’ the work.” – Thomas Doyle, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“Working in a small scale gives me the opportunity to create something that is both ‘real’ and ‘unreal’ at the same time.” – Thomas Doyle, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“… the creation of small worlds gives us the illusion of control. In a world that grows ever more faster and chaotic, in a world in which we are bombarded with imagery, artworks in small scales allow us a place of retreat, where time has stopped.” – Thomas Doyle, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“…by focusing smaller and blocking out the imagined dead weight of the world around us, we can manage to take in even more information, do more, feel bigger, lighter, move faster… even to a pathological degree.” – Dante Brebner, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“Ironically working in a miniature scale allows me to easily present a large environment. It allows the viewer a God’s eye perspective. There’s the sense of voyeurism or of reality TV, Big Brother, or The Truman Show. Miniatures evoke a feeling of wonder or awe. It’s like Gulliver’s Travels. It suspends reality taking you out of your surroundings and brings you into a new world.” – Joe Fig, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“We long to explore worlds represented in miniature, but are denied physical access. So we project ourselves into those scenarios, identifying with the personalities of the tiny characters, reading the implied relationships between each of the characters and investing our own desires, into the pleasurable outcomes of the stories being told.” – Kendal Murray, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“I often choose to work in small scale because it allows me to capture an entire place or location. It lets the viewer become a voyeur, with permission to look into windows and behind doors that normally aren’t acceptable for viewing.” – Tracey Snelling, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“Working in miniature allows me the freedom to construct a world of my choosing, and tell a story of what might be.” – Lori Nix & Kathleen Gerber, Miniature Artists Explain Why They Love Making Tiny Worlds, The Creators Project
“I had become fascinated by the ability to create a faux reality using toy figures… I think that the defining idea behind my work is to try and get the viewer to enter the world between fantasy and reality. When you can create something so believable out of toys it starts to call into question what is fantasy and what is reality in our minds.” – David Levinthal
“The scenes I set up, more evident through the photography and the titles I give these scenes, aim to reflect the loneliness and melancholy of living in a big city, almost being lost and overwhelmed.” – Slinkachu
“…properly constructed, miniatures are like stage sets or movie sets that invite the viewer to visit an alternative place and experience a different world.” – Louise Krasniewicz
Sources:
- http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fascination-and-big-picture-messages-of-miniature-objects/
- https://thewonderofminiatures.com/about/
- https://tourmalinenow.com/about/
- http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/miniature-artists-explain-why-they-make-tiny-worlds
- https://tourmalinenow.com/2012/09/23/an-interview-with-david-levinthal/
- http://slinkachu.com/bio
All backgrounds are from http://www.color-hex.com/
[Edit, linking this post on 8/12 to WordPress’ Daily Prompt: Obsessed]
Why do you find miniatures fascinating? Please leave your thoughts in a comment below.
**I’m working on compiling links for a part 2 post. Leave your thoughts below and they may make it into the next post.
Great post :)
Thank you very much.
I really appreciate this post today. I have always loved miniature and wondered the reason why!! Your post give me reflections on this phenomenon. One of my greatest disappointments was a visit to Los Angeles, and seeing that there was a miniature museum to visit. When we arrived, it turned out it had been closed permanently. Does anyone know where there is one? My favorite part of the Chicago Art Institute was that wonderful gallery with the dioramas with the fantastic miniatures.
Thank you so much for your comment. I’m disappointed to hear that the miniature museum in LA closed, I’ve never been, but I’m sure if I ever found myself in LA I would have. Just upon a search, it looks like there’s ones in Tuscon, AZ, St. Louis, IL, Kansas City, MO and Denver, CO. I’ve never actually been to a dedicated miniature museum, but I appreciate the small displays many museums have. There’s a great train display – Entertrainment Junction in Ohio that I have been too. It’s great if you’re into that sort of miniatures.
…my two cents: Because miniatures allow us to create worlds, even “impossible” ones. Personally, I love to fool around with scale (but I rarely reserve time for that)… And I always enjoy your pictures! Great ideas here.
Thank you. I completely agree with you.