Video: A Miniature New York – Gothamist. This was sent to me from LSU MLA 2010 student Tom Grubbs.

image from The Gothamist

This is a great example of how framing can change the perception of scale in representation. By manipulating the the focus plane Sam O’Hare created “The Sandpit,” a time lapse film that makes shots of New York appear as a model. The technique is tilt-shift photography, and typically uses image editing software to change or minimize the area of focus on an image.

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Through the combination of a sand and plastic substrate (to simulate gravel and sand respectively) and alfalfa sprouts (to simulate deep rooted vegetation) a group of Berkeley researchers have successfully recreated a performative model of a meandering stream. Science Daily. Oct 2009

The ability to simulate natural processes through scaled models ties back into the Mississippi Basin Model. In this sense the abstraction occurs because the media (alfalfa sprouts, sand, plastic) perform as scaled counterparts to the real world.