Daily Miniature Photo Calendar by Tanaka Tatsuya

Japanese artist Tanaka Tatsuya has been keeping a miniature calendar since 2011 and posting daily photos of his tiny creations.  

Incorporating food and everyday objects, his work runs the spectrum from whimsical and playful to darker and more contemplative of deeper social themes.

 Be Sure to check the artists facebook page for daily updates.

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Liz Hickok-Jell-o Cities

Liz Hickok, a San Francisco based artist, models urban landscapes in Jell-O.
"I have always been interested in architectural scale models of cities, and how photography can play with the viewer’s sense of scale, blurring differences between the real city and the constructed one."-Liz Hickok (from artists website)

Here are a few of her jiggling works:

Project: San Francisco in Jell-O

"Bay Bridge"
Photograph, Liz Hickok

Project: San Francisco in Jell-O

"The City"
Photograph, Liz Hickok

Project: Jelly NYC

"One Broadway"
Photograph, Liz Hickok

Project: San Francisco in Jell-O

"The Mission: 16th and Dolores", Liz Hickok

Project: Jelly NYC

"Downtown Buildings"
Photograph, Liz Hickok

Project: San Francisco in Jell-O

"Coit Tower"
Photograph, Liz Hickok

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Storywoods-Rebecca Dudley

Rebecca Dudley, is an Illinois based artist and children's story book author.  Her book Hank Finds An Egg-blends the worlds of diorama, photography and storytelling.  Her website Storywoods, contains other diorama-photo-stories that will soon be turned into books. 

Still from Hank Has a Dream-by Rebecca Dudley

 

Below is a video describing her process.

Now Available:
Hank Has A Dream

Hank Has a Dream-By Rebecca Dudley

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The Diorama Maps-Sohei Nishino

Photographer Sohei Nishino compiles pieces of a city one photograph at a time. He then reconstructs the images to form a larger portrait in The Diorama Map Series.   According to the artists website, "The creation of a Diorama Map takes the following method; Walking around the chosen city on foot; shooting from various location with film; pasting and arranging with enormous mound of pieces".  Nishino's work is currently on view as a part of Fotografica Bogota 2013.

Diorama Map Berlin

Diorama Map-New York

Diorama Map-Paris

Diorama Map-Tokyo

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Constructing Destruction-The Dioramas of Lori Nix

Lori Nix  is a New York based photographer who crafts exceptional dioramas of a dreamy post-apocalyptic world.  From churches to libraries-laundromats to subways-the worlds are abandoned, overgrown, fractured and frayed.  Her latest work will be on view at Catherine Edelman’s booth at the IPAD Photography Show at the Park Avenue Armory,  this April 4-7.

lori nix Subway photo on view Catherine Edelman’s booth IPAD

Lori Nix Circulation Desk, 2012

Lori Nix-Plane 1998

Lori Nix-Library, 2007

Lori Nix-Aquarium, 2007

Lori Nix-Uranium Extraction Plant, 2000

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Julia Callon-Passivity and Madness in Miniature

Julia Callon is a photographer working with miniatures.  The Toronto based artist takes a doll house aesthetic and turns it on its head.  The photos below are from her Houses of Fiction Series, which was inspired by 19th Century women writers.  Working with the ideas of confinement, a "woman's place" and the dichotomy of passivity and madness, Callon's photographs evoke a familiar charm before erupting before our eyes.  You can read more about her work, which is also available for purchase on Wondereur.

Julia Callon from Houses of Fiction

Julia Callon from Houses of Fiction

Julia Callon from Houses of Fiction

Julia Callon from Houses of Fiction

Julia Callon from Houses of Fiction

Julia Callon at work-image via Wondereur

 Here's a cool time lapse of one of Callon's pieces.


Untitled from julia callon on Vimeo.

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Matthew Albanese-Breathtaking Models

Matthew Albanese is a photographer and illustrator from Lincoln Park, New Jersey, that makes  unique miniature worlds and then takes pictures of them.  Here are some process photos from his work found on his facebook page. 

Matthew Albanese-facebook

Matthew Albanese

Matthew Albanese

Matthew Albanese

Matthew Albanese

Matthew Albanese

Matthew Albanese

He also has a book coming out called Strange Worlds, which you can order from Lazy Dog Press.

Matthew Albanese-Lazy Dog Press

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Paolo Ventura-Photographing Small Worlds

 Italian photographer Paolo Ventura constructs unique worlds and then takes amazing photographs of the dioramic landscapes.

from Paolo Ventura-the Automaton

from Paolo Ventura-the Automaton

from Paolo Ventura-Winter Stories

 Here is a behind the scenes look at the artists' process.

Paolo Ventura on Winter Stories from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.

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The Invention of the Diorama-Daguerre and Bouton

In 1822 Louis Daguerre , a painter and stage decorator, along with painter Charles Marie Bouton, invented "realistic illusion shows" or Dioramas.  Together they opened The Diorama in Paris a venue to show their large scale panorama paintings, with special light effects.

woodcut of The Diorama Paris, c. 1830

With light, forced perspective and a couple cranks of moving mechanisms, Daguerre and Bouton turned paintings into moving scenes.

Painting: Ruins in Fog, Charles Bouton c.1823

Here is a video recreation of the Daguerre and Bouton Diorama. Although, the video is in French (without subtitles)-it requires very little translation, as it visually demonstrates the technique that Daguerre and Bouton invented, which is clearly the precursor to modern cinema.


                           

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