Thu 15 Sep
2011
Little Manhattan
Japanese artist Yutaka Sone carved this painstakingly detailed re-creation of Manhattan out of marble, referencing both Google Earth and primary photographic research conducted via helicopter rides over the city. It’s roughly two feet wide, eight feet long and three feet tall — and it’s probably incredibly heavy as a result.
The sculpture will be on exhibit in New York at David Zwirner Gallery starting next week. Read more about it over at Spoon & Tomago.
“Little Manhattan” reminds me a bit of the amazing miniature replicas of strategic French ports and cities that can be found at the Musée des Plans-Reliefs in Paris. I took a few photos of the exhibits there on one visit several years ago, but they barely do justice to the exquisite nature of those scale models, which were even more painstakingly created without the benefit of satellite imagery or helicopter rides.
You can see the handful of photos I took at the museum at this Flickr tag, and you can find out more about the museum at at Wikipedia.
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Yutaka Sone’s work was among my favorite experiences at the Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles. That exhibition was similar—the subject was Southern California freeway interchanges.
Here is a sample photo from: link
The island drop-off of “Little Manhattan” definitely adds an interesting dimension compared to the perfect square blocking of “Highway Junction 110-105”.
Thanks for reminding me of this artist.
The first marble model is amasing! It would be hell to dust though!
I’m pleasantly reminded of a number of artists—Charles Simonds - most especially. I’ve always found intimate scaled works appealing. Back in my art school days I was similarly focused.
The marble landscape is completely incredible and breathtaking!