Alan Wolfson’s miniature time machines

Many people making dollhouses or miniature interiors want to create an ideal environment in which they would like to live. 

However, the same cannot be said of artist Alan Wolfson whose incredibly detailed and realistic miniature creations are modelled on 1970s New York.

Alan’s dioramas are like miniature time machines taking you back to a time when New York was in a state of neglect and decline.  They feature rundown or seedy locations that are full of garbage and graffiti.

In an article in the Daily Mail, a UK national newspaper, Alan attempted to explain what he was trying to achieve:

“To me, the most important experience you take away from my work is the story. I’m providing you with clues to a narrative, telling a story with minute details.”

One of his latest pieces, which took him eighteen months to complete, is a cross-section of Canal Street showing the street level, the subway station below and the subway car below that.

Talking about this piece, Alan said, “I wanted to build a piece that resembled a core sample of a city street. As though you took a street, dug it up, and lifted it straight off the Earth… The street scene is not an exact representation of Canal Street, but rather a combination of existing and fabricated environments.”

You can see lots of examples of Alan’s work on his own website.  They are certainly worth a look to appreciate the care, craft and imagination he puts into them and they might even inspire you to try something a little different in your own miniature creations.