Is model railroading a form of art

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
21

Without question absolutely YES it is an art form and a seriously over looked one. Yes we have many many fine artist in the hobby like Sellios, Zane, Keoster, Elwell, Frietag and of course John Allen just to name a few and snot meaning to slight any of the countless others. Artist work in many mediums, clay, oils, stone, what have you. So in the hobby we use plaster cloth and 1"x4" or plywood as our canvas and ground foam and Envirotex instead of Windsor & Newton oils and brushed and pallet knives. I t makes us no less of an artist. I don’t care if your the guy with the fast track on a ping pong table of the master craftsmen with the gigantic basement empire. we’re all artist in our own right.

Whoa re these people who judge who art is a work of true genus and whose is an amateurish joke. Some of this so called art hanging in galleries looks like something my dogs threw up when they got in the garbage the night before. I have more respect for the retired senor citizen who gets great joy out of painting a field of flowers or some boats on a lake then soem freak gluing garbage can lids toa wall and calling them art.

They scoff at people like Fredrick Remington and Norman Rockwell saying their work is folksy. I have a brother who is one of these so called artist who couldn’t make an honest dollar off of selling any of his junk but used to laugh at me airbrushing a gas tank on a motorcycle or pin stripping a hot rod for a couple of hundred bucks a pop and some times more.

Art is nothing more then you expressing your self how you see things or want them to be seen. We are unfortunately an over looked of very talented individuals and maybe someday recognized for the true art it is.

22

There is a bunch of books now out about this issue of ‘Folk Art’ and its relation to ‘High Art’. You want some fun here–check out the history of Grandma Moses and the issue of her artwork’s reception—the ‘Modernists’ had HUGE issues with her work being accepted more in a lot of ways than theirs—

23

As soon as I saw this title I remembered that thread. And I wondered how long this iteration would stay cordial. So far, so good.

I had a strong opinion then, but no longer. I no longer really feel the need to label or categorize things. Model railroading is what it is. There are both engineering and artistic requirements to produce a good looking and reliable layout that operates realistically. Maybe that’s why I love it so much. But the human need for taxonomy seems to compel us to label it as absolutely one thing.

Art is EXTREMELY subjective. I used to be more of an artist; I have classical training in painting, drawing, and sculpture. It’s been 11 years since my last watercolor painting. I guess this is my exclusive artistic outlet now.

24

Dave,

I could not agree more to your statement. Model railroading is what it is - the world´s greatest hobby, spanning the world and uniting people from all walks of life in the pursuit of happiness in various scales.

Labels don´t do us any good and being put in different brackets hurts us enough in real life. Income bracket, tax bracket - I don´t want to see an MRR bracket.

Those, who excel in the creation of beautiful layouts (like you; Dave, and many others posting frequently here) earn our respect.

[bow][bow][bow]

25

I am an artist in a different area/discipline: music. So I know a thing or two about the arts. Plus, I have a sister who works in the live theatre industry, a brother who’s worked as an animator for an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ and another brother who’s in art school at the moment.

Is model RRing an art? Not always but it most definitely can be.

Art is a form of human expression done through a certain type of discipline (painting, photography, dance, theatre, music, etc).

Building a layout can be a form of expression…especially if you’re freelancing a railroad and/or building a fictional town, it requires imagination and creativity.

Not all modelers apply artistic license in their modeling, and applying too much artistic license can be unappealing to some, but for many of us, subconsciously, the miniature worlds that we (re-)create through our hobby can represent our individual ideals of reality.

For instance, the transition era is popularly modeled because steam and diesel trains coexist. But a modeler may hold a feeling of nostalgia for the way people lived back then, or the technology, or the cultural values of the time. Whatever the reason, the modeler made a decision to represent the world in a certain fashion and is expressing it through the design of their layout.

Modeling a scene of, say, a small town square on your layout, with people walking, some walking their dogs, etc, isn’t too different than, say, making an oil painting of people walking in a town square, or writing a song or poem about that scene.

26

Many of the non-train people who visit my layout comment that it is art. As detached onlookers whose previous impression of model railroading came from their little brother’s train set, I think they see the artistic aspects even more clearly than we do. They are genuinely surprised at how much more a model railroad can be than a loop of track around a Christmas tree.

I’ve also heard model railroading described as “kinetic sculpture,” like art with moving parts. This is one aspect of our hobby that distiguishes it from most other art forms. It’s a bit like theater, in a way, because we build a scene, and then the “actors,” suitably made up and weathered, strut and fret their hour upon the stage. (Yes, we even refer to the parts unseen by the audience as “staging.”)

And if you need further proof, just scroll through any Weekend Photo Fun thread.

27

No, it is not art!

It consists of many artistic elements, and may incude artwork in many different forms (a backdrop painting, for example). But it is no more a piece of art than is a trailer home with paintings hanging on the walls.

In crafting our models and layouts, we might be considered artisans in any of several fields - a designation I personally would value more highly than “artist.”

In the previously-mentioned earlier thread on Model Railroading as art, Spacemouse posted a photo of a rather unique-looking chair and asked me if it was a chair or a piece of art. I replied that it was a chair with many artistic elements. Likewise a model railroad layout is a construct incorporating many artistic elements. I don’t believe it is art as a whole.

But if you want to believe it is, be my guest! [:D]

28

I think model railroading is unquestionably an art form, no doubt about it. Perhaps not so much the “collector” side of the hobby but absolutely from the “layout building” side. In order to build a layout you have to have a “vision” for what you want to create. Even if you utilize someone else’s plans and ‘store-bought everything’, you still have to put it together, build it, wire it, hook it up, fit it into the space-- whatever. At a bare minimum you have to do something to get it going.

But the real test of whether its art, I think, is this: What do you see when you look at it and run the trains? Wood and plaster and toy tracks and trains? Or a mighty railroad hauling people and freight and trains thundering down the line? If its the latter, then its art. Art engages the viewer, reaches out and touches them and involves them in some way. Even if its just in using your imagination-- if you have something you created that does that for you-- its art.

John

29

“… Yeah I saw Joe-Bob’s setup. His layout was the ‘Velvet Elvis’ of Model Railroading…”

[8D]

30

Uh, whatever you say there Sheldon-- you say its “art”, its art!

(Please don’t shoot!)

[:D]

31

Is this a building or a work of art?

Bad question. … It is both art and a building.

Mark

32

Larry

I am a Starving Model Railroader… Kevin

33

I agree that it is art. However, I am not sure how many of the model railroaders mentioned as examples ( Sellios, through John Allen) were ever recognized as artists by the art world. I believe that John Allen had an art background. Dave Frary, John Olson, Paul Scoles and Malcom Furlow should be included in the mix and many others who’s work is only seen in “The Short Line And Narrow Gauge Gazette” should be too. However Malcolm Furlow is surely recognized as an artist by the art world but seems to be ostracized as a true model railroader by even those who regard model railroading as an art form which seems to me, to be rather odd. Peter Smith, Memphis

34

Why would any of them even care if they were “recognized” by the “art world”?

Sellios vs Furlow = Drama vs cartoons, I’m not into cartoons, my 3 year old grandchild is.

And I’m not even a Sellios fan, even the depression was not that depressing - I’ve seen the photos and talked to my grandparents, but he is a great craftsman.

Allen was an interesting blend of every artistic/craftsman extreme this hobby can offer.

Again, Model Railroading is way above art. Just my view.

I design and build buildings, good looking ones that follow traditional Architectural styles, and I restore great Arhitectural gems from the past, am I an Artist?

Craftsman, Artisan, Master Builder, all terms I would rather be called, in my profession and hobby.

Sure the “fine arts” represent special talent, but NOT talent that is more important than the talents of those who have built our cities, our homes, our cars, our industries, and our railroads, real and model.

But what do I know…

PS - we only shoot thieves, trespassors and invaders, and believe in gun control - hitting what you aim at!

Sheldon

35

I think it is. analog kid: I would probably get a C- in finished product, a B in technique, and an A+++++ in enthusiasm.

36

That has been another area where simple difference was converted into a contested zone so that people can engage in marking behaviour. Some poets used to say that they derived their poetry from something called “inspiration” simply to boost their status in cultural arenas. It ends up as simple marking behaviour—

It still takes more than technique—it does require an eye to see the potential in an unrestored/messed up building I’d say----and that is an eye of an artist----[:-^]—

I think that these categories can be all too readily turned into a static label/thing—but then again–I’m not much of a knowing one either—[:-^]

37

Maybe very true, but some of us would rather not be “marked” as a member of certain groups that contain some members who’s “differences” WE see as less than flatering, even though we may keep our views on those differences to ourselves. So maybe that does “require” being marked as a member of a different group.

This is pretty lofty stuff for a guy with a pick up.

But I have no taste for art, hanging on my office walls are two pictures of John Wayne, one of a red '58 Impala convertible, and a Mort Kunstler print of Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg.

Sheldon

38

This may be piling on; akin to preaching to the choir… But, most emphatically and resoundingly: Yes!! Model Railroading is a three-dimensional art form. I am an artist with lots of experience as a draftsman and painter on two-dimensional surfaces, as well as sculpting - both direct metal and stone carving - in three-dimensional space. I think we can also add the fourth dimension of time, as well.

MODEL RAILROADING IS AN ART FORM

39

I think there’s definitely artistic aspects to it, but I wouldn’t call myself (or very many of us) an “artist.” One of my pet peeves is the proliferation of the word “artist.” Remember a while back, there used to be “bands,” “singers,” and “dancers?” Now everybody’s a freakin’ “artist.” Sheesh! [|(]

40

And that is part of the issue. A portrait painter is an artist, one who does German expressionism is an artist, a potter is an artist–even more so if doing art pottery, a----one gets the picture. It is easier to call all these different categories “artists” than to split hairs I guess[:-,][swg]