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.

Extreme Miniaturists

When we think of miniatures, we usually think of dollhouses, right? While dollhouses are an elemental part the world of miniatures, miniatures are definitely not confined to this genre of the craft. From tiny musical instruments, to miniature food, and petite gardening, the world of miniatures has really expanded to encompass a number of unique categories since its creation.

On the front lines of this change are a distinct group of "extreme miniaturists" who are pushing the bounds of miniaturism as an art form—using the creative process to create high quality artisan pieces. Most of these artists incorporate the technique of hyperrealism into their work—creating minature scenes that are as realistic as possible, down to the tiniest detail.

A number of these artists concentrate on creating scenes that evoke narrative—they strive to make viewers of their work imagine the story behind the scenes that they create. Sometimes these detailed, realistic scenes reference historical events, or aim to bring attention to larger issues in society.

The first hyperrealistic miatures were created around the mid 20th century. The first, and possibly most widely known artist of this genre is the late Charles Matton. Amongst a number of artistic ventures, Matton was known for creating hyperrealistic roomboxes, which can be found in museums and galleries around the world.

Renowned miniaturist Jim Sevellec was also known for creating a number of highly detrailed, extremely realistic roombox scenes, including a series depicting historical scenes of daily life in the city of Brest, France for the city museum.

Lori Nix, perhaps the most noted extreme miniaturist of current times, builds on this tradition of the hyperrealistic miniature scene. Nix is known for combining fine, realistic details with elements of surrealism to create unique apocalyptic "diaoramas of decay". Her most recent series, The City, depicts the aftermath of an apocalyptic event in the city of New York.

Joe Fig, another artist of note, makes highly detailed miniature “tabletop” sculptures. Many of his sculptures replicate scenes from around his art studio—photographs of these scenes can be found in his books, Inside the Painter’s Studio and Inside the Artist’s Studio.

It is clear that hyperrealistc miniatures are becoming an increasingly prominent sector of the miniatures world. While the artists listed here are some of the more established of the field, there are a large number of up and coming hyperrealist miniature artisans who’s work can be found on social media sites, such Pinterest and Instagram, or in small galleries. Keep an eye out, as we are sure to see more and more of artists popping up the coming years.

(Photo Credits: Pinterest, Wikipedia, Lori Nix, Joe Fig, Cote Brest)

Museum of Miniatures Pt. 1: The Kathleen Savage Browning Collection

Summer is finally here—the official season of both the road trip and the getaway. There’s no better time to take a “little” vacation? (pun intended). In the spirit of summer, we are featuring a short series of posts that will spotlight the absolute best miniatures museums from around the world. We have chosen each of these places because of their rich, unique collections of upscale miniature pieces by some of the most established miniaturists of all time. Needless to say, each and every one of these places is more than worth the visit.

The Kathleen Savage Browning collection at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center is the perfect museum to start off this series. This museum boasts one of the largest, most extensive personal collections of exquisite 1/12th scale pieces of all time.

Kaye Savage Browning, the collection’s proprietor and owner, has been collecting miniatures since 1974. Since then, she has traveled the world in search of the finest miniature creations.

In 2007, Ms. Savage Browning opened the 3300 square foot gallery in order to share her collection with the public—the collection has grown to include thousands of miniatures, roomboxes, homes and exhibits.

Visitors of all ages will enjoy viewing discussing the many historically accurate miniature replicas pieces, which depict objects and scenes from a wide array of time periods, and preserve important cultural sites in miniature.

The museum is also home to a number of rare exhibit pieces, such as the Spencer House—a 1/12th replica of the ancestral home of Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, created by famed miniature artisans, Mulvany and Rogers. Each and every detail of the 18th century replica has been created by hand in an exact likeness of the historical landmark in London.

Mrs. Savage Browning’s collection is truly quite remarkable in every sense of the word. The museum is an absolute must-see for all who love miniatures, from the casual collector, to the ardent miniaturist.

The museum is located at 215 Sutton Street in Maysville, Kentucky and is open to the public Tuesday-Friday from 10am until 4pm, and Saturday from 10 to 3. You can also visit the collection’s website for more information or check out the KSB Blog to read some great posts about the collection and other miniature topics.

(Photo Credits: Pinterest, KSB Collection Website, American Towns, Cincinatti Magazine, Facebook)