 Hi, art lovers! | | | | |  | (Mike Patten/Gardiner Museum) | | | “People LOVE miniatures.”
I got that text from an excited colleague late last week. He’d just checked Instagram, and something we’d posted to the CBC Arts account was prompting more exploding-head emojis than usual. What was the fuss about? A quick video from the Karine Giboulo exhibition that’s on right now in Toronto. The show’s called Housewarming, and the gist is this: Karine’s taken over the third floor of the Gardiner Museum to create a stripped-down version of her Montreal two-bedroom. And she’s filled the space with satirical dioramas — scenes that involve more than 500 miniatures she sculpted by hand.
Yep, people LOVE miniatures. And in turn, CBC sure loves covering the people who make them. A quick think reminded me of all these past stories: articles about artists (in Alberta and Nova Scotia) who make tiny movie sets; profiles of folks who build tiny replicas of their favourite places in Toronto and Saint John. We’ve met artists who build tiny crime scenes, tiny tree houses, tiny traditional Mi’kmaw baskets and tiny (functioning) kitchens where they cook tiny meals. I don’t think any of those stories spend much time pondering why we enjoy acting like a bunch of peeping Toms from Brobdingnag, but earlier this year, when Best in Miniature (a reality show about miniature artists) debuted on CBC Gem, I spoke with some folks on the other side of the equation. Why do people make minis? The cost of living is a major contributing factor. Having the home of your dreams is a lot easier if you build it in 1:12 scale. Here’s a more recent story with its own theory on the trend. And if you’re not patient enough to craft your own itsy-bitsy Eames chair, did you realize a growing number of designers are releasing shrunken replicas of their furniture — or that there’s an “art world version of a dollhouse"? | | |  | Marina Totino | | Montreal’s Marina Totino is a miniaturist who’s big on nostalgia. | | | | |  | Office of Collecting & Design | | Did you know there’s an entire museum of tiny objects in Las Vegas? And that visitors can play with its collection to create pretty flat-lay photos like this one? It’s called the Office of Collecting & Design and it’s run by artist and filmmaker Jessica Oreck. | | | | |  | Vancouver Vending Co. | | The Vancouver Vending Co. vending machine sells “snack-sized” art by locals. According to Instagram, they’ve recently restocked and you can find the pop-up project at 1055 Dunsmuir St. | | | | |  | Toni Hafkenscheid/Gardiner Museum | | | | | There’s tiny art hiding in the drawers, the fridge … even the couch. Take a tour of Housewarming, a new exhibition at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto. | | | | |  | Little Dipper Films | | | | | There’s a growing film scene in Canada’s Arctic. Says Whitehorse filmmaker Max Fraser: “In this business, it all comes down to story, and we’ve got many to tell [up here].” | | | | |  | AMC | | | | | | | Columnist Alicia Elliott writes about Ginger Snaps, the new Interview with the Vampire series, and how the horror genre positions young female desire. | | |  | Xiaojing Yan | | Xiaojing was featured in last week’s newsletter, but the work she makes with live mushrooms is just one teeny-tiny facet of her art practice. There’s so much gorgeous work to explore on her Instagram. This photo? It’s of Spirit Cloud, a 2017 piece that's made out of more than 33,000 freshwater pearls. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
