Weekend Diversion: The Year In Miniatures

An incredible art project creates a new, tiny world every day.

“I’d rather create a miniature painting than a Taj Mahal of a book.”
–Mohsin Hamid

As small as it is compared to many of the larger structures in our Universe — gas giants, stars, clusters, galaxies and more — many parts of our world can seem dauntingly large, dwarfing us. Even the smaller things can have tremendous impacts, as KT Tunstall sings in her song, Miniature Disasters:

But in the world of art, size often doesn’t matter, at least, not when it comes to the feeling it evokes. And perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the work of Tatsuya Tanaka, whose project “Miniature Calendar” sets some very human scenes against the centerpiece of some very small, familiar objects.

As Tanaka himself says,

Broccoli and parsley might sometimes look like a forest, or the tree leaves floating on the surface of the water might sometimes look like little boats. Everyday occurrences seen from a pygmy’s perspective can bring us lots of fun thoughts.

I wanted to take this way of thinking and express it through photographs, so I started to put together a “MINIATURE CALENDAR” These photographs primarily depict diorama-style figures surrounded by daily necessaries.

Tanaka has been posting these photos every day since 2011, and claims to do it for one and only one reason: to add a little enjoyment to your everyday life.

He had a collection of miniature figurines, along with many accessories, and found inspiration in everyday objects and constructing scenes that highlight day-to-day life in new, artistic ways.

He gave a really interesting interview with DesignBoom on his art, and when asked about the themes that ran through his work, here’s what he had to say:

The theme is ‘the interest of likening one thing to another’. In doing so, you can see how everyday things can become more fun when imagined in a different way. It is important that the ‘miniature calendar’ is understandable in its intention for everyone — young and old, of any nationality. So, I try to use familiar things and address familiar matters.

I think he succeeds tremendously in this. Below are a few of my favorites, but you can check out the full nearly-five-years worth of archives on his Miniature Calendar website.

I really appreciate how the “miniature” objects he chooses are immediately identifiable, and that they’re used in incredibly unusual, creative ways to create a totally different scene than what they were ever intended for.

Thanks to Laughing Squid for bringing this onto my radar, and hope this helps provide you with a fun and novel perspective on everyday life. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you back for more wonders and joys of the Universe as the week unfolds!

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