Museum Exhibit Design Inspiration: Matthew Albanese

Dioramas, whether large or small, may be considered by many to be too "old school" for the hyper-connected museum-verse.

Until you see the work of artist Matthew Albanese. 

The incredibly artful and detailed miniature worlds he creates are mesmerizing, but even better, he shares the techniques and materials --- mostly familiar household stuff alchemically transformed (like the tornado image above made of steel wool, cotton, ground parsley and moss) through detailed miniature construction --- on his website. 

You can see examples of finished images in the "Strange Worlds" section of his website, and learn about how he created his finished photographs in the "Modeling My Worlds" area.


There's something incredibly inspiring about someone who creates beautiful work and is willing to pull back the curtain by explaining parts of the process.  Museums are great at showing "end products" but not so great at explicating the creative process --- that's why I think it would be great to have a show of Albanese's photos and the mini-dioramas that were constructed to create them.

Is there an opportunity to use such "old school" work to bridge the traditional world of museums with the tribes of digital natives?  (Perhaps as a way to create more engaging videos or online media experiences ...) Let us know what you think in the "Comments" section below.

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