October 25, 2001
9:59 PM Subscribe
By far the most bizarre and intriguing exhibit at the Museum of Jurassic Technology is the microminiature work of Hagop Sandaldjian.
"Sandaldjian's creations - colorful figures poised on or inside the eyes of needles, or painted directly onto split grains of rice or individual hairs - are at the very least amusing, and at their best, profound."
Pictures don't do justice but you can see his Snowhite and 7 dwarves, golfer, colonial, or just read poetry inspired by his creations.
I loved the concept for the museum, but the reality of it was disappointing. Many exhibits were not working or shabby-looking. Maybe the grant will help.
This was great.
posted by davidfg at 4:39 AM on October 26, 2001
The photographs are really poor quality. I've done photomicroscopy before, and it isn't that hard. The equipment isn't that expensive anymore, either.
Do these sculptures look worse at higher magnification, or better? It would be best if there were side-by-side photos - 1 like what were posted, to show scale, and 1 really magnified to show detail.
But a neat obsession.
posted by yesster at 7:02 AM on October 26, 2001
Do these sculptures look worse at higher magnification, or better? It would be best if there were side-by-side photos - 1 like what were posted, to show scale, and 1 really magnified to show detail.
But a neat obsession.
posted by yesster at 7:02 AM on October 26, 2001
Lawrence Weschler wrote an outstanding book about the MJT and David Wilson called Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders (amazon). Well-written and very entertaining; I highly recommend it.
The theme of the book (and, indeed, of the MJT itself) is exploration of the human reaction/relation to the fabulous. Some of the exhibits are elaborate hoaxes designed to test our willingness/ability/need to 'believe'.
For example, the awesome pronged ant is unfortunately a hoax. I can't remember if these microminiatures are real or not. If they're fake, that would explain the low-quality images.
posted by gassire at 7:49 AM on October 26, 2001
The theme of the book (and, indeed, of the MJT itself) is exploration of the human reaction/relation to the fabulous. Some of the exhibits are elaborate hoaxes designed to test our willingness/ability/need to 'believe'.
For example, the awesome pronged ant is unfortunately a hoax. I can't remember if these microminiatures are real or not. If they're fake, that would explain the low-quality images.
posted by gassire at 7:49 AM on October 26, 2001
So perhaps the exhibits were not working or shabby-looking on purpose! Brilliant!
posted by davidfg at 12:33 PM on October 26, 2001
posted by davidfg at 12:33 PM on October 26, 2001
I used to work at the Museum of Jurassic Technology. The microminiatures are real.
posted by hannah1303 at 3:39 PM on October 26, 2001 [1 favorite]
posted by hannah1303 at 3:39 PM on October 26, 2001 [1 favorite]
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posted by waxpancake at 10:56 PM on October 25, 2001