(Image: Supperfield Museum of Contemporary Art)
By Danielle Marie Holland
The Supperfield Museum of Contemporary Art is the only full-scale miniature art museum in Seattle, permanently housed inside First Hill’s Museum of Museums. Created by sculptor Jennifer McNeely, the SMCA began presenting its third show as the MOM re-opened earlier this month.
Unlike the recently opened 3,000 square-foot Seattle NFT Museum, the SMCA exists in a more tangible, albeit tiny plane. “It’s like a gem. If you discover it, you discover it. Any way that you experience it is good. You know it’s fun,” said McNeely.
Designed by an architect from NBBJ, the mini-museum is composed of four gallery spaces and an atrium. Featured within their upcoming exhibit is an immersive miniature installation by Mary Anne Carter, paintings by Magnus Faber, new work by Valerian Bettronini, a ceramics installation by Spiral Getty, and paintings by Brandon’s Ghost. A literal ghost. (Albeit a miniature one.)
The artists are names you should not have ever heard of.
They are doll avatars of each participating artist.
“Each artist that shows has a doll avatar and then that’s the artist that’s making the work,” said McNeely. The Museum within the Museum of Museums, is, indeed, a meta concept.
“The most fun I have is really with the artists. They are all professional artists who’ve been working like I have in the art world and with this, they get to just make something for fun,” said McNeely.
At SMCA, there are no blockchains. Nothing is for sale or acquisition. Images of digital NFTs do not exist on the walls. And the miniature dolls certainly have a very minimal impact on the environment.
Here the process begins as artists create a character, choosing to make them as similar or as different from themselves as they desire. They get to explore and play, and then, this is where the art begins to get layered. To get the full experience of the Supperfield, visitors should follow SMCA’s Instagram where the stories play out.
McNeely has built a theatrical web of storytelling on top of visual art creations — with theater, narrative, and drama.
“Some people really like to get into that, it gives them something to be excited about. And if people just want to come for the miniature art, there’s also super cool miniature art,“ McNeely said.
The show runs through April 30th at the Museum of Museums, 900 Boylston Avenue. Be sure to follow SCMA for the full experience.
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The MoM is great!! I love it!