The Intimate in Art
The Wonder of Art in Miniature
Shay Aaron makes food sculptures that make his clientele smile!
See
I was reading about the upcoming opening of a Henry Moore show at the Holburne Museum in Bath, England, featuring his miniature works, and it made me curious about how experiencing and making miniature art provides us a natural sense of wonder. Let’s explore some miniature art to get an idea!
Moore's Mother and Child (1930)
This sculpture is 15.3 centimeters (approx. 6 in- smaller than the length of an adult hand). Compare it to the feeling you get from the Large Two Forms sculpture in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Henry Moore is celebrated for his monumental sculptures in city squares and parks. This exhibition showcasing the artist's smaller works that can fit into the palm of your hand is a surprising and intimate look at his art on a tiny scale!
Dr. Willard Wigan, MBE Micro Sculptures in eye of needle
Tiny pieces can draw you in with their details and can feel special, a childhood sense of treat and treasure is induced. They can hold a sense of the curious and wonderful in their small form. Simply, there is magic to be found in tiny things.-Kore Sage
You can have a large sculpture which is petty and similarly a small work which has a sort of grand scale. -Henry Moore
Karen Libecap, Chameleon
Karen Libecap, a talented artist in Alabama, paints unbelievably tiny paintings of animals, objects and pop-culture characters. Some of her miniature paintings are so tiny that they’d fit on the face of a coin! www.karenlibecap.com
We Experience Awe and Wonder
Our brains are often drawn to the unique and unusual. "Miniatures—tiny objects—draw our attention because they are extraordinary; the mind knows that the object is highly unusual in size while being familiar in design," says Carla Marie Manly, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Sonoma County, California. "Thus, the mind finds the tiny object appealing—cute and adorable—as it evokes a sense of normalcy and oddity at the same time."
There's also the "awe factor," or wondering how in the world something that's usually so big can be made in such a small size. "Seeing a marvel or feat that reminds us how amazing, talented, creative people make us feel good," says Gail Saltz, MD, a psychiatrist and associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine. "Seeing something that makes us use our imagination, and is so original [that] it gives us pleasure can, like art, [be] a creative wonder."
Say
"Whenever we see tiny things we find cute and attractive, our brain releases dopamine and makes us feel happy."
Check out a Henry Moore sculpture near you (map), and then imagine it in small scale. How might the scale change the experience?
Make a mental list of 10 things that are cuter when they are tiny.
Share your favorite here.
Do
This week I have been creating some tiny tapestries. So fun, so cute!
Make a tiny artwork.
Cut out a stack of 1in x 1in paper. Create mini artworks on them.
Read Why Tiny Things Make Us So Happy & Benefits and Magic of Making Tiny Art
Join Wonder Mob, a community of ‘wonderers’ like you! MN Readers, sign up for kids summer camps and classes! Please share your reflections with me by replying to this post, or post and tag my Wonder Wander Facebook or Instagram pages!
