Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window in Miniature

The newest gallery installation at D. Thomas Fine Miniatures features Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window in Miniature, a special work created in 1/12th scale, by professor of anthropology and artist Louise Krasniewicz.

Louise writes extensively about miniatures and discusses why miniatures are so prevalent in modern culture. In her work she suggests that, when carefully constructed and scaled, miniatures are like stage or movie sets that invite the viewer to visit an alternative place and experience a different world. Her works portray miniatures as imaginative productions, true marvels and wonders of art.

Krasniewicz created this intricate miniature setting, a replica of the main movie set from Hitchcock’s 1954 classic film, for inclusion in “Celebrating the Movies,” part of the miniature settings category displayed at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show earlier this year). Her creation achieved First Place and Best of Show.

When Alfred Hitchcock planned the set for Rear Window, he made the windows that looked into the Greenwich Village apartments appear to be miniature movie screens, showing the drama within each cramped space. The love stories played out in the windows of the abstractly named characters—Miss Torso, Miss Lonelyhearts, the Songwriter, The Newlyweds—depicted a possible version of the life of Jeff Jeffries, the wheelchair-bound photographer, watching his neighbors. When Jeffries suspects one of his neighbors of murder, the parallel stories framed in the apartment windows all contribute to the mystery.

“Cramming all of that, along with the details of the apartment of the murderer Lars Thorwald, into a scale-model replica of the Rear Window set was the challenge,” claims Ms. Krasniewicz. “It demonstrates numerous scratch building, painting, design, lighting, and construction techniques as well as providing the perfect demonstration of the notion of “worldbuilding” that is defining the newest approaches to miniatures” she goes on to say. Louise believes that when seeing miniatures as built worlds rather than just play things “we have the possibility of entering that world and experiencing its wonders.”

By viewing a scaled replica of an enormous Hollywood stage set, the viewer can take in evidence from all the scenes at the same time and enjoy the connections between the stories played out in the windows.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window in Miniature will be on display in the Gallery at D. Thomas Fine Miniatures until November 25, 2015.

About the Artist

Louise Krasniewicz, PhD, is an adjunct in anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania where she teaches anthropology courses on anthropology, popular culture, and movies. She is also affiliated with the Cinema Studies Program and is a fellow at the Penn Cultural Heritage Center. Her academic training in media studies and anthropology made her an expert on pop and geek culture phenomena and the theoretical frontiers digital media. Krasniewicz is the author of numerous books including biographies of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Depp, and Walt Disney, and a study of the California recall election. Louise’s passion for miniatures include the study of ancient miniatures across times and cultures, miniatures in film, and miniatures at World’s Fairs. Krasniewicz’s insights may be found in her blog The Wonder of Miniature Worlds…past & present, in theory and practice.

About the Film

Hitchcock’s Rear Window was released by Paramount Pictures on September 1, 1954 and relates the story fictional photographer of L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (played by James Stewart) who passes time by watching the private lives of his neighbors through their open windows when confined to wheelchair in his Greenwich Village apartment while recuperating from an accident during a summer heat wave. The film explores man’s fascination with voyeurism and the attraction of being watched and observed. Rear Window received four Academy Award nominations and in 1997 the film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically and aesthetically significant.

About D. Thomas Fine Miniatures

D. Thomas Fine Miniatures is a retail and gallery destination featuring fine scale collectibles. The shop also offers workshops and classes taught by master artisans on making miniatures. It’s located in the historic lower Hudson River Valley in the Moviehouse Mews, once The Hastings Theater (opened in 1920) and attended by local resident Billie Burke – who played Glinda, the Good Witch, in the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz and Flo Ziegfeld, of the Ziegfeld Follies. The address is 579 Warburton Avenue in the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. Gallery and shop hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday from Noon to 5:00 PM. Evening hours are available by appointment.

Mixed Media Miniatures

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times—collecting and creating miniatures is SO much more than just a hobby—it is truly a unique form of art. Thus, like any art form, new styles and techniques evolve within the genre all the time. As always, we at D. Thomas Fine Miniatures do our best to keep up with all of the trends and cutting edge techniques so that we can keep you in the loop.

In keeping with this idea, we recently held a workshop on up and coming trend of mixed media miniatures, which focuses on collecting miniatures and arranging them for display in a three dimensional “scrapbook” style piece. This technique allows the collector a way both to create a decorative collage style piece, but also a vehicle with which to organize and show off the best of their miniature collection. Additionally, the “scrapbox,” as they are sometimes called, becomes a decorative piece to display in one’s home.

The idea of displaying pieces in a shadow box is actually quite an old one. Traditionally, sailors retiring from the military would keep their naval badges, flags and military medals in shadowboxes that were later placed on display in their homes. Eventually, artists began to create shadowboxes for non-military homes. During the Colonial and Victorian eras, when miniatures became popular, shadowboxes began to be used to display prized miniature pieces.

Today’s mixed media miniature pieces draw upon these traditions but are uniquely modern. One of the foremost scrapbox artists from whom many draw inspiration is Joseph Cornell. Cornell’s boxes primarily feature unique found objects from a number of sources including thrift stores; garage sales and even just things found lying on the ground. If you’re seeking inspiration, you can check out his stylishly eclectic website here.

The art form has become so popular in recent years, that the LA Times did a featured piece on a collection of scrapboxes that recount important figures and events in American history. The article and fascinating accompanying slide show can be found at the Times’ website.

Though the inagural scrapboxing workshop has unfortunately passed, don’t worry—you don’t have to miss out on the fun. D. Thomas is holding another workshop on October 15th. It will be hosted by expert scrapboxer, Heidi Bound, and will have a Fall/Halloween theme.

Oh, and of course you can always check out the pictures from the last workshop on our website and on our Instagram page. (and while you’re there, be sure to follow us!).

Miniature Museums pt. 2: The Art Institute of Chicago

Ahh…Its finally August, which means you’ve probably got some time off. This would be the perfect time to have a picnic, go to the beach, or visit an amusement park—if it weren’t so terribly HOT outside!

Better to save the outdoors for Labor Day when the weather is (hopefully) a bit more cooperative and make your way to the air-conditioned halls of a museum instead. We suggest the Thorne Miniature Rooms Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, which is both the second featured destination in our Miniatures Museum Series and one of the oldest, largest and most well-known miniatures exhibits in the world.

The Thorne rooms are named for their creator, the renowned miniature artisan, Narcissa Niblack Thorne. The story of how Thorne was initially introduced to miniatures is somewhat unclear—one of the more popular theories suggests that Thorne began to collect miniature pieces during her travels to Europe and Asia in her early adult life.

Another theory proposes that her interest was first fostered during childhood by an uncle, a Naval Rear Admiral, who was said to have sent her miniature pieces from around the world.

Though neither of these stories has been officially confirmed, what is clear is that by the early 1930s Thorne had begun to receive much notoriety for her roomboxes and shadowboxes, which started to appear in museums and galleries around the world.

Approximately 100 Thorne rooms are known to exist. The painstakingly detailed, 1:12 scaled rooms replicate the interiors of upper-middle class homes from years ranging from the late 13th century until the 1940s. While many of the rooms replicate designs popular in England, France and the US, a few of the rooms are reflective of her travels in other parts of the world.

Despite the popularity of her work, Thorne never received any payment for the pieces, and donated them to museums and charity in her later years. In 1954, the majority of these works (68 of them to be exact) were put into a permanent, large gallery in the Art Institute of Chicago, where they can still be seen today. The gallery encompasses the entirety of the first floor of the museum and continues to be one of the most popular exhibits in the museum, attracting thousands of visitors each year.

The Art Institute of Chicago is located at 111 S. Michigan Ave. and is open to the public daily from 10:30am – 5:00 pm. Additionally, the museum stays open until 8pm on Thursdays, and admission is free for Illinois residents between 5 and 8pm. Check out the museum’s website for more information.

And if you really just CAN’T make it to Chicago? Well, the museum does offer an online tour of part of the collection on their website—you can check it out here—but be forewarned that there’s no true substitute for the real thing!