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| A teapot with a miniature abandoned city built on top of it. Photo: NPR |
On the phone screen, a pair of giant hands are cooking in a tiny kitchen: an egg the size of a button is fried in a miniature pan, the flame flickering from a small candle. According to NPR (USA), social media is flooded with images of people patiently recreating a miniature kitchen, where they cook eggs using the warmth of a candle. All these images aren't cartoons, but rather miniature art that's taking TikTok by storm, where the lines between reality and virtuality blur in a 1:12 scale world .
Control and meticulous craftsmanship
Miniature art became particularly popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, when artists began sharing tiny models and their meticulous crafting techniques. According to those involved, the pandemic fueled this creative wave. “It’s definitely about control. Like playing The Sims or simulation games, you control everything that happens in the tiny space you create,” Amanda Kelly, a miniature model artist and the first artist resident at the Mini Time Machine Museum in Tucson, Arizona, told NPR.
The Sims is a computer-based virtual life simulation game where players create and control virtual characters (called "Sims"). However, according to neuroscientist Susana Martinez-Conde (Downstate University School of Medicine , New York), the appeal of miniature art doesn't just come from the sense of control. “We are drawn to scenes filled with visual information... These tiny scenes are like candy for our visual system.”
The ingenuity of miniature art is evident in Thomas Deininger's Macawll of the Wild (2024), a work by Rhode Island artist exhibited at Art Miami. Viewed from the front, it's a blue-and-yellow parrot perched on a branch. But as the viewer moves, the sculpture reveals an optical illusion: it's composed of trinkets such as an unclothed doll, a plastic paintbrush, an unpeeled plastic banana, bottle caps, a size 2 pencil, and a tangled measuring tape.
The artwork, valued at $60,000, quickly went viral after a woman filmed a video of it and posted it on TikTok. According to The New York Times, the video garnered 16 million views by noon on May 11th, increasing to 50 million by 3:30 p.m., 90 million by 6 p.m., and currently surpasses 118 million views. Marina Totino, the artist from Montreal, Canada, told NPR about the patience required for this art form: "Creating miniature models is very time-consuming. I often stick things on with super glue, drop them, and can't find them because they're so small, so I have to start over."
Telling stories in miniature
Miniature art is not just about recreating tiny objects, but also about wordless storytelling. In these works, people are often absent, leaving only the "giant" hands of the artist and the miniature scenes connected to the story behind them.
“You can slow down, think about little stories, and immerse yourself in the world you want to create,” Ashley Voortman, author of the book Creepy Crafts: 60 Macabre Projects for Peculiar Adults, shared with NPR. Meanwhile, Marina Totino takes viewers back to childhood through nostalgic scenes from the 80s and 90s. “I’m fascinated by recreating spaces that once existed but will never exist again,” she says. A typical example of Totino’s work is a shoebox-sized video rental shop with hundreds of tiny DVDs, graffiti-covered brick walls, and a “Sorry we’re closed” sign tilted under the door. The mirror effect makes the disc shelves appear to stretch endlessly. She writes on her website: “May the memories of renting movies last forever, so far that these hallways will lead the way. Everyone loves the little things,” Ashley Voortman explains the appeal of miniature art.
The miniature scale, often 1:12, also makes the crafting process particularly challenging. “You have to be like a Renaissance person, knowing woodworking, knowing how to recycle materials,” shares Amanda Kelly. Voortman often starts with a vague idea, then dumps all her craft “junk” in front of her and begins assembling. From bottle caps and old soy sauce jars to scraps of decorative items, she has built tiny haunted houses in matchboxes and even abandoned cities on… teapots.
The miniature art community is as "open" as the artists' own imaginary spaces. Artists meet at exhibitions, conferences, and mini-markets across the United States. "Your miniature world doesn't have to be perfect. Even if it's just paper or cardboard, it's still art, a world just for you," Totino says.
This trend also reflects the aesthetic trends on TikTok in 2025 that Apple.com once mentioned as the “AI Art Generator” movement. But unlike digital paintings created by AI, mini-art affirms the return of craftsmanship with real, tangible objects.
Miniature art and the power of social media |
Despite its long history, miniature art only truly became a global phenomenon thanks to social media. Thomas Deininger's "Macawll of the Wild" is a prime example: from an obscure display at Art Miami, it became a TikTok phenomenon with 118 million views in just a few hours. Platforms like TikTok are also reshaping how we appreciate art. In the "Mindful Minute" trend predicted by Apple.com for TikTok in 2025, users are encouraged to take a moment of quiet reflection amidst the digital whirlwind. Miniature art, where every small detail is meticulously crafted, is becoming a form of visual meditation, helping viewers find peace in a turbulent world. |
TRAN DAC LUAN
Source: https://baodanang.vn/channel/5433/202505/vu-tru-nghe-thuat-ti-hon-4006943/
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