Friday, Aug. 16, 2024 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2 / Stream now with the PBS app
CRAFT IN AMERICA “Miniatures” examines the world of tiny objects and the artists that make them. From folk art to marionettes to tiny furniture, the artists of "Miniatures" reveal what motivates them to work at a scale that demands a masterful attention to detail.
During a holiday season where inspiration, craft, and human touch are at the fore, the series explores these themes through communities and distinguished artists of varied backgrounds and disciplines impacting new generations of makers.
We meet Mark Murphy, a miniaturist living and working in Astoria, Oregon. Mark shares his process for creating intricately detailed miniature furniture. We travel with him to the Chicago International Miniatures Show and connect with his community of other remarkable miniature artists.
We visit Santa Fe, New Mexico, to reveal the iconic 20th-century designer Alexander Girard’s passion for folk art through the “Multiple Visions” exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art. In the 1980s, Girard transformed his collection of over 100,000 pieces of miniature folk art from all over the world into one expansive exhibition that has been displayed exactly as he designed it for over 40 years.
We travel the globe at the annual International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where artists and makers from around the world including Mexico, Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Eswatini, and more share their practices and culture through miniature folk art and other craft traditions.
From IFAM, we cross the continent and ocean and follow the model vehicles of artist Leandro Gómez Quintero to his home in Baracoa, Cuba. Leandro crafts his faithful recreations of vehicles like the iconic Willys Jeep with intricate detail and accuracy, using found materials to tell the story of Cuba and her people through his art.
Finally, we celebrate the prolific multidisciplinary artist, Gustave Baumann, who created paintings, woodblock prints and marionettes in the first half of the 20th century. Baumann was deeply inspired by the landscape and people of Santa Fe, and the city keeps his legacy alive today with their yearly Christmas marionette show.
Watch On Your Schedule: This episode is available to stream on the PBS app, pbs.org/craftinamerica and YouTube.
CRAFT IN AMERICA, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
