(1981, Kumamoto, Japan)

Tanaka Tatsuya is a Japanese photographer and writer born in Kumamoto in 1981. He is very popular on the internet for his project The Miniature Calendar which he started in 2011. In this project, Tatsuya shows photos of common objects in which he develops a miniature story. Being a “calendar”, Tatsuya shows one work per day (which is a constant and not inconsiderable effort).

Tanaka Tatsuya works in design and advertising and has been an advertising art director for several magazines in Japan. Suddenly he came across Instagram and decided to post photos of miniatures that he built with small plastic figures like those used in models and everyday objects.

In April 2011 he decided to create his official website under the name Miniature Calendar.

My intention is to create works that are simple and easy to understand even for an elementary school child.

It usually takes about two hours from the time he starts taking pictures until he uploads them to social networks. He spends one hour choosing and placing the figures one by one, as well as deciding on aspects such as lighting. He also retouches the images and thinks about the title and tags to assign to them before posting. Tanaka does not usually accumulate the snapshots of his works, but, in many cases, photographs them the day before publication. One wonders whether the artist is under pressure to publish a work a day or is afraid of running out of subjects.

Social networks have the advantage that it is possible to know the direct reaction of users through comments and the number of “likes”.

A unique artist in the world

Among Tanaka’s many foreign followers on social networks, those from Hong Kong and Taiwan make up the bulk of his followers. According to the author, that is because “like Japan, they have a limited territory and their living space is small, hence perhaps a taste for miniatures has developed.”