miniature

Posts tagged
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Art

New Miniature Warning Signs and Other Humorous and Unexpected Interventions by Michael Pederson

Michael Pederson, a.k.a. Miguel Marquez Outside (previously), installs miniature signs, work sites, and queues in unassuming locations, transforming ordinary plants and objects into moments of intrigue for unsuspecting passersby. In one recent work he tracks the lifespan of a solitary weed poking through a sidewalk crack. A tiny wooden ladder leans against a sign that marks the number of days the plant has been growing. In another work he installed two small stanchions in front of a hole in a stone wall. A small sign reads “Please wait here until called,” presenting the illusion that a mouse-sized club or popular eatery exists on the other side. You can see more of Pederson’s small-scale interventions and humorous additions to commonplace landscapes on Instagram and tumblr.

   

 

Photography

Snails Occupy Miniature Sets Built by Aleia Murawski and Sam Copeland

Creative duo Aleia Murawski and Sam Copeland build elaborate miniature sets occupied by small, slimy actors. The environments are laced with suburban nostalgia, which feature perfectly manicured lawns, plastic-coated furniture, and messy teen bedrooms littered with snack wrappers and tiny video game consoles.

The pair’s collaborative worlds are used for still images and short films. Murawski’s favorite part of shooting with snails is seeing how they interact with their sets, while also learning how to specifically direct the slow moving creatures, she explains on her Instagram. One way she and Copeland inspire certain movements while filming is by positioning cucumbers behind the sets’ tiny objects, which encourages their subjects to inch towards the hidden vegetables. The duo used this technique in their recent music video project for Bully, in which they built out an entire neighborhood and house set to outline a day-in-the-life of an extra sluggish snail.

For more slime-centered work, including this video of a motorcycle-riding snail, visit Murawski’s Instagram. You can purchase posters of the collaborative photographs on Big Cartel. (via It’s Nice That)

Design

An Eight Foot Micro Vehicle Will Soon Make its Way onto European Streets

The Microlino, a front-loading super compact vehicle from Swiss mobility company Micro, has just been approved for European streets. The mini electric vehicle is smaller than a Smart Car, and comes with a rechargeable battery that works with any standard European electricity outlet. The automobile is inspired by BMW’s “Isetta” design from the 1950s, and shares a similar appearance to several other “bubble cars” manufactured throughout the mid-20th-century. The first prototype for Micro’s two-seater was introduced in 2016, but went through several logistical tests before it could be considered road-ready. Swiss consumers can expect the vehicles to arrive later this year, with cars reaching the German market in early 2019. (via Designboom)

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.