Joe Macken (the truck driver who built the model) and Ferdinand Cheval (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Cheval) were never alive at the same time. But if they had ever met, they would have found each other to be kindred spirits.
Awe-inspring. But one thing I don't get: he says he wants every building to be included, but the buildings in NYC are anything but permanent. Did he pick a particular timestamp for everything, or is it a mosaic of different epochs? Keeping the model up to date would be even more insane.
i absolutely love the sentiment from this closing sentence:
> “One of the reasons Joe is so insistent that every single building is here is because he would never want someone to come and see it and not be able to find where they live and see their story,” Sherman tells Artnet.
There is a miniature of Prague from around 1830 by Antonín Langweil. He dedicated his all free time to finish it in a hope of making money for his daughters. Langweil never found a benefactor for his work and he died poor. Pretty tragic story.
This is kind of timely for me because very recently I had heard of the film "Synecdoche, New York", but in this film, the scale model is more life-size.
Somewhat related, in 1943 German POWs built a scale model of the Mississippi River basin to use for modeling of flood control methods. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River_Basin_Model) It's not in great shape now, but it's still walkable. Efforts are periodically made to rehab it.
Models are such a great tool, artistically, culturally, and scientifically. Joe's NYC model really helps put the scale of the city into perspective.
'Truck driver' here serving only to put him down, because the feat wouldn't be expected of such a person?
Seems to me like papers' infamous (at least in the UK) references to victims' or alleged perpatrators' house prices, to instruct our sympathy, when it's not otherwise at all relevant.
Looking at the level of detail, and the thoroughness, I wouldn't have expected it to even be possible to complete it in 20 years. How much time does this guy spend driving truck? Amazing accomplishment and display of dedication and creativity.
A swiss architect did the same in the mid 19th century with Geneva, specifically to preserve an image of the city right before the entirety of the city walls were to be razed
Any way to know how many buildings were demolished and a newer one built in its place over that 20 year period? Wonder what he used for a reference. Is the model representative of a single moment in time, or is there some clock drift?
70 comments
> “One of the reasons Joe is so insistent that every single building is here is because he would never want someone to come and see it and not be able to find where they live and see their story,” Sherman tells Artnet.
Trucker built a scale model of NYC over 21 years https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45261877 - 18 comments, 6 months ago
https://www.muzeumprahy.cz/en/visit-langweils-model-of-pragu...
Models are such a great tool, artistically, culturally, and scientifically. Joe's NYC model really helps put the scale of the city into perspective.
Seems to me like papers' infamous (at least in the UK) references to victims' or alleged perpatrators' house prices, to instruct our sympathy, when it's not otherwise at all relevant.
pics: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Relief_Magnin