Roadside Curiosities: Small is Beautiful
By Emma Alexander
Smaller things aren’t always less complicated, a lesson I learned quite quickly when I went to visit the Museum of Miniature Things: Small is Beautiful art exhibit in NYC. The exhibition, which recently extended its stay in Manhattan, features artists from all over the world and contains works in a multitude of mediums, including cardboard, metal, thread, and even candy.
One of my favorite pieces in the museum, created by artists Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle, was a candy confectionery made out of any candy you can think of. What was cool about this piece in particular was that in the piece’s description, there was a list of different figures hidden throughout the piece, including characters such as the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and even the Queen of England! I spent a good ten minutes trying to find all of the characters hidden throughout (the Queen was particularly difficult!) and even after finding all of them I felt as though I could stare at the piece for even longer.
Moving forward through the museum, each section featured a different artist’s work, with a wide variety of miniature art. And surprisingly, for a museum filled with such tiny things, there was an immense amount of variety in the work. Some works, like those of Slinkachu, posed their art in the real world and left it there for others to find (one of my favorites of his was a sneaker shoelace made to look like the Loch Ness monster). Many, like the works of Margie Criner, became more complex the longer you looked at them, the works containing elaborate scenes and details sometimes as large as a needle. Speaking of needles, there were even works of art that were contained inside the eye of a needle, so small they required a microscope to see, and something you’ll have to see in person to believe. Most of the pieces told intricate stories, ones that were up to the eye of the beholder, yes, but also were incredibly personal to the artist. One artist utilized a microscopic paper flower stand to represent their relationship with their mother, while another, who spent a childhood creating buildings for his toys, created incredibly detailed miniature replicas of French architecture. The artist’s stories and the pieces themselves drew me into a world where things felt so simple and yet so complex simultaneously, a mirror image of the world we live in every day.
Something that further drew me into this miniature world was that there was a museum-wide scavenger hunt, which gave me the chance to truly appreciate every inch of this wonderful museum. There was even one on the way out the front door!
Regardless of who you are or what walk of life you come from, it is always good to appreciate the little things in life, a lesson easily learned at the Small is Beautiful exhibit. The exhibit reminds us to find joy in both little things in life and the unexpected. And so, with this roadside curiosity, always, remember to stop and smell the roses and of course, to stay curious.
Emma is a Sophomore from New York studying Communications. One of her favorite travel destinations is New York City due to the immense amounts of opportunities for new experiences and the incredibly diverse culture.
