miniature

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Design

Contemporary Takes on Cuckoo Clocks by Guido Zimmerman Resemble Brutalist Block Buildings

German multidisciplinary artist Guido Zimmermann reinterprets the iconic German cuckoo clock using examples of modern architecture. The artist notes that while “the classic cuckoo clock stands for the prosperity of the middle class and counts as a kind of luxury for the staid home, the updated version as a panel construction shows today’s urban and social life in apartment blocks.”

Zimmermann drew on specific examples of modern architecture to create his sculptural “Cuckoo Blocks,” including the Glenkerry House by Brutalist architect Ernő Goldfinger and Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer’s Flaine hotel. Grids of windows peek out of flat concrete surfaces, with contemporary details such as satellite dishes and cactus houseplants.

The artist studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in his native city of Frankfurt, where he currently lives and works. You can see more of Zimmermann’s diverse projects, including paintings and murals, on his website, as well as on Instagram and Facebook.

Design

Miniature Installations Transform Bookshelves into the Back Alleys of Japan

If you’ve ever wandered around Tokyo on foot you’ll know that it can sometimes be like a spider web of side streets and back alleys. It’s one of the things that makes Tokyo so unique and therein lies the allure of exploring the massive city. Now, one designer has brought that magic to bookshelves by designing back alley bookends.

The clever idea is the brainchild of a Japanese designer who goes by the name monde. Based in Tokyo, monde creates objects inspired by the city but also animals and insects. The back alley bookends come in a pair and can be used together to replicate a small back alley, or they can be used individually, exposing the intricate stepping stones, A/C units, piping, plants and other details that have been carefully recreated by hand.

Monde exhibited the back alley bookends, along with other works, last weekend at Design Festa, a Tokyo-based arts & crafts event where artists, both amateur and professional, come together to exhibit their artwork. The event has since ended but the next dates (August 2-4 and then November 10-11, 2018) have already been announced. If you’re interested, you can also try reaching out to the artist directly. (Syndicated from Spoon & Tamago)

Art

Miniature Workshops Constructed Inside Ceramic Vessels by Jedediah Voltz

Miniature-builder and ceramicist Jedediah Corwyn Voltz constructs tiny homes, studios, and workshops perched within or around domestic objects. Previously we’ve covered his mini treehouses—impressive structures that scale succulents and other common houseplants with the support of petite scaffolding. Recently the artist has combined two of his preferred mediums, building small-scale interior scenes in the cross-section of his handmade ceramic vessels.

The multi-piece sculptures feature workbenches, complex machinery, crystals, and telescopes which peer from the top of the converted pots. These miniature workshops will be exhibited in the group show Bad Ass Miniatures: … Causing a Little Trouble at D. Thomas Fine Miniatures in Yonkers, New York from May 5 through July 22. You can view more of the Los Angeles-based artist’s ceramic works and tiny houseplant homes on his Instagram and Big Cartel.

 

    

Art Design

Banksy Releases New Miniature Walled Off Hotel Souvenir Series

Banksy’s year-old project in Bethlehem, The Walled Off Hotel (previously), has just released a new set of souvenirs exclusively available in the hotel shop. The series of works, which are each hand painted by local artists, depict the West Bank barrier in a crumbling state. A hooded figure is featured beside the wall in several of the works—either contributing a fresh piece of graffiti or physically breaking through the wall with mallet in hand. Banksy views these works as anticipatory objects, pieces that might accurately depict the wall’s end.

The hotel also released a new album during last week’s Palestine Music Expo, featuring international musicians such as Brian Eno, The Black Madonna, Trio Joubran, Roisin Murphy, and Akram Abdulfattah. The work was produced by Block9 during a “Creative Retreat” at the hotel this past February, and includes seven collaborative songs inspired by Palestine’s history. The Walled Off Hotel Creative Retreat Album is now available for free on Soundcloud.

Art Craft

Discarded Objects are Beautified with Colorful Coral-Like Growths by Stephanie Kilgast

Stephanie Kilgast takes discarded objects like tin cans, jam jars, and old cameras and embellishes them with vibrant amalgamations of coral-like growths. The artist honed her detail-oriented skills by making hyperrealistic miniature food, and she continues to use polymer clay and hand tools to craft her artworks. Mushrooms, crystals, beetles, and abstract forms sprout from the everyday objects that Kilgast sources from thrift stores and trash cans.

In an artist statement on her website, she describes her work as “an ode to life, where plants and fungi meet insects, animals and minerals. These encounters are growing in a colorful swirl of diversity, and the erratic growth develops on found objects, in a dialogue between humanity and nature.”

Kilgast, who is based in France, often documents her creative process in videos on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. In addition to sharing her work with her large online audience, the artist exhibits widely, and was most recently a part of the themed group show “Monochrome” at Art Number 23 in London.

 

 

Craft

Poseable Miniature Birds Designed by Katie Doka

Copenhagen-based miniature artist Katie Doka fabricates exquisitely detailed miniature birds that perch atop the ends of pencils and paintbrushes. The feathery specimens are built primarily from polymer clays, glass, jewelry wire and lambs wool or cotton with accents of acrylic paint. Although the pieces are designed primarily for use in dollhouses, their adjustable frames and appendages ensure each bird can adapt to any environment. You can see more on Instagram and in her Etsy shop. (via So Super Awesome)

Photography

A Photographic Series of Miniature Faux Fur Landscapes Examines the Myth of the Wild West

At first glance, Areca Roe’s photographic series, ‘O Pioneer,’ seems to depict placid vistas of the American West, not dissimilar to what might be seen on a vacationing friend’s Instagram. But on closer examination, Roe’s images are actually miniature scenes, with faux fur comprising the textured landscapes.

The Minnesota-based artist shares with Colossal that she was inspired by photographers who captured persuasive images of the West in the late 1800s, and whose work “helped propel the problematic narrative of Manifest Destiny, but also solidified support for national parks.” She continues, “My photographs are clearly a simulation, a farce, with the fake fur as a reference to the lure of potential bounty as well as the resulting devastation.” You can see more of Roe’s work on her website. She also has created limited edition prints of ‘O Pioneer,’ which are available in her Etsy shop. (via Colossal Submissions)