If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives): modern miniatures

I suppose it's the combination of being a female, a wannabe architect and having a predilection for modern design that makes me somewhat obsessed with modern dollhouses.

Whenever I come across a new one, which is rare and infrequent since the discontinuance of the Bozart Kaleidoscope Dollhouse, I get very excited.

So, when I saw that Inhabitots mentioned a new dollhouse by Minimii that is a small scale reproduction of the world famous architect Arne Jacobsens' Villa in Charlottenlund, I simply had to investigate further.

Of course, I'm going to provide you with images of the dollhouse AND the original house that inspired it... because... well, that's what I do.

While other blogs and magazines are excitedly reporting that the house can be purchased... truth is, production of the item has been delayed due to lack of investment capital. They continue to be optimistic about planning to offer the house prior to the summer of 2010 and are hoping for a retail price below 1200.00 USD. I certainly hope so because this is one cool dollhouse.

The dollhouse exterior:

Exterior photos of the original Arne Jacobsen house:

Comparing the details of the original house to that of the dollhouse:

As Inhabitots reported, "the house was designed by Linda Stenberg and Claus Hojer Hansen, the Danish creative directors of Minimii and features a roof and four walls that may be mounted and dismounted, allowing more children to play at once. A small collection of designer furniture (Egg and Swan chairs courtesy of Fritz Hansen) as well as tiny commissioned modern art pieces, and many more chic amenities which stay in place via magnets.

Stenberg and Hojer Hansen will furnish the dollhouse with the aforementioned furniture, as well as Vipp trash cans, an exclusive miniature art piece by artist Poul Pava, kids play furniture from Bobles, kitchens and bathrooms from Design by Us, and lighting from Normann Copenhagen! They are also collaborating with the famous doll maker, Maileg, to create the very fortunate, design savvy family who will live in the miniature Jacobsen home.

In addition to providing kids with an amazing dollhouse and all the furnishings, the Minimii team offers, “We want to talk to adults who have an interest in design and who see the dollhouse as a design object in itself.”

above: Minimii creative directors Linda Stenberg and Claus Hojer Hansen

Dollhouse interiors:

Architectural plans of the original Arne Jacobsen Villa located at Gotfred Rodes Vej 2, in Charlottenlund:

I really hope they meet their goals because I'm dying for one of these as well as the miniature versions of the Arne Jacobsen Ant, Egg and Swan chairs that fit within it, also produced by Minimii:

Please don't let this go the way of the Bozart Kaleidoscope Dollhouse, if you are interested in being an investor, contact them at:
Claus Højer Hansen, partner, managing director: +45 2812 1383 claus.hansen@minimii.com
Linda Stenberg, partner, creative director: +45 2084 2009 linda.stenberg@minimii.com

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A fan of modern dollhouses and miniatures? I have written these other posts as well:

•M112 PODS & Mini Modern Furnishings By Paris Renfroe

•Modern Interior Design. On a Different Scale.

•Bauhaus Mini-modernist Doll Houses Promote Karen Walker Paints For Resene

•Kathy Osborn Has Big Talent With Little Things And Little Ones.

In advertising, when attempting to come up with a fresh idea or execution, it is often said "it's been done". The same can hold true of many art related disciplines and clearly the juxtaposition of miniature figurines with ordinary objects has proved to be but one of the concepts often executed.

Here are just four (and there are more) artists/photographers who have created visual narratives by placing tiny human figurines with ordinary and mundane items.

1. Baktana by Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow

Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow are artists/industrial designers who combined their talents in 1996 to form an Israeli-based design studio located in South Tel Aviv. They collaborate on everything from lighting design and furniture to medical products and dinnerware (you may have seen their "hotplates" on designboom).

One of their lesser known projects, Baktana, is a series of miniature figurines juxtaposed with found objects, creating little narratives. I just love them, so I wanted to share them with you. The tiny monochrome figurines are those often used in architectural models or with model trains. By placing them in and around such mundane objects as pencil sharpeners, wire brushes and keys, they create stories of their own.

All these itty bitty set-ups fit one one table:

See more of their work and projects here.

2. Vincent Bousserez Plastic Life

Another artist who creates narratives by combining miniature figurines with found objects is talented photographer Vincent Bousserez and his Plastic Life Series. Coincidentally, he even uses some of the same objects, like the brush:

A few more images from Vincent's Plastic life series:

He has an enormous amount of images in this series, and you can see them all here.

3. Jason Barnhart

San Francisco photographer Jason Barnhart has also shot a series of HO scale figurines with found objects- or in many of his images, food. You won't find these images on his site but he contributed them to JPG magazine under the name CultureSpy:

See more of Jason's miniature images here.

4. Slinkachu

An anonymous street artist who goes by the name of Slinkachu, has a series named "Little People Left In The City To Fend For Themselves." What make his or her work slightly different than the others is that the series is a street art installation, placing these out in the world, as opposed to being created in a studio. The images below show the narratives as close-ups and then as they are seen in the environments.