The Accidental Railroader

There are definitely artists in model railroading.  Some of their work has been seen on

this forum.  I am not an artist in that modeling, but I would like to be.  Model railroading can be an art form....art tries to recreate an image, or just to create one,

in the viewer's mind.  Some photos of layouts, views up the track at oncoming locomotives, etc., can, for a moment, appear real and transport you to a location that

isn't real but appears to be.  Model railroading is an expression of art when you deliberately create a scene (not just the tossing of track and trains out on the floor).

Art can be expressed by many mediums...in model railroading: structures, scenery,

cars, locomotives....artists work in many mediums... One does not deliberately need

to set out to be artsy, to create a work of art, nor to be "full of it" (art, that is).

The fact that there is "folk art", is evidence that art can be accidental.  A useful

shape can be flowing and attractive.

Somebody's been reading the New Yorker too much.

 

You're killin' me here. 

Balshis - "Good One."

 

Many thanks,

 

Billy C

We really need some new product delivered or even better some new catalogs with "earth shattering" product announcements.

 

This whole "overthinking the hobby to scrape up a topic" these days gives me a headache........

You forgot:

Is all art really artful?

 

Jerry

 

BOY OH BOY !!! if that aint the truth ! I dont know what is ?

+1 on that.

Bob

 

Ah Geez, No!!!!  If a new catalog comes out we'll have to go back to threads complaining that the new WhatEverCo Super Zepher SD92 costs too much and its  apiece of junk anyway because the picture on page 78 of the catalog shows the upper left access ladder hand hold has vertical non-slip knurling rather than horizontal.  

 

My head is stil throbbing from the whole York Big Boy thing.  I sort of like sticking to with these non-controversial motherhood-and-apple pie topics.

 

 

Originally Posted by Lee Willis.....

  I sort of like sticking to with these non-controversial motherhood-and-apple pie topics.


Yeah ..... Believe me we know.

I'm just here to run trains. If I want art I'll go to a museum.

Maybe this will pry open a few minds:  The Model Railroading of Art

 

Be sure to scroll down and check out John Armstrong's version of Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" diner.

 

Pete

I'm not an artist. I'm an Engineer, but I do appreciate scenery. Is there better? Of course there is. Knowing I have done my best is good enough for me. I start with a concept and then go from there. Most of the time it turns out better than I originally thought. And along the way, I have had fun too.

 

You'll never know what you can do if you never try. 

 

Gilly

 

 

you remember that kid with all the questions in the beginning of Home Alone? well guess who he grew up to be

 

Yes Bruce there is art which I see in the scenery aspect of the hobby

Steve

Bruce - There is nothing to apologize about in the original post.  Don't let a few narrow-minded people get to you.  Check out The Model Railroading of Art and know your post was absolutely legitimate.

 

Pete

 

Both of you put into words what I was thinking!

Reminds me of this poster; which raises the question of whether the statue is art or the flasher's name was art.

Thanks, I had never seen this site.  His Nighthawks is fantastic - amazing though, how your eye picks up on the tiny differences (shape of the coffee urn tops).  Not that I could have done better.

 

And I had thought about it.  Once upon a time I thought about an "art" theme for my layout - reproducing Nighthawks on a corner downtown was one of them, doing an old barn with a girl in the grass (Wyeth's Christina's World) and van Gogh's Landscape with Cart and Train, etc.   I decided on TV and movie detectives instead, and they are more fun.

 

But  . . . this thread has sunk the hook in too far:  I gotta think about this.   

I have a degree from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. My career was spent as a Manager of Graphics and Design for a Fortune 200 company. While I can express myself in terms of design and color, I feel that many of you show an incredible amount of creativity and artistic skill. I also believe that there is a lot of high-priced "public art" that is pure junk. There are also multi-million dollar paintings in museums that I would not care to have hanging in my own home. On the other hand, I cannot stand Kincade's "Mall Art".

Posted by Gilly:

 

 

Beautifully done Gilly.  Nothing less than a work of art..  Our efforts truly are an art form and I agree with the posters trying to emulate great detail or intriguing story telling layouts.  To me these represent lots of thinking, concentration and putting a vision into a presentation that allows the viewer to let their imagination roam... 

Oh yes! There must be a billion dollars worth of stuff in US museums I would not have on the walls of my garage.  I'm much more into Bouguereau and Wyeth than the truly modern stuff.  But live and let live: easy to just walk right on by that section of the museum.

As for America's "Painter of Light" - I try to never  say anything really bad about anyone, so you'll notice I never talk about him.  On the other hand, his art looks really good on this website:

 

http://alienartisan.deviantart.com/gallery/46432162

 

Anyway, there is a lot of art - true artitic touches, in much of what you see on the layouts shown on this forum.  Maybe art is in the eye of the beholder - but I see a lot of it here.

I'm a model railroader or I play with toy trains, either will do.  To be an artist you'll have to have a pony tail, wear socks with your sandals and drive a Prius.

Earth without art is just EH!

everyone is an artist, when you put you creativeness to work you are and artist

doesn't matter what work you are doing.

AG.

 

 

 

 

The really cool thing about art is you get it or you don't, and that's alright, but there's no need to disparage it simply because you don't like or understand it.  Some folks like Kincade, others like de Kooning.  It's all good.

My favorite art layout is Frank 53's Lionel Lines, which to me was a brilliant execution of a singular vision.  (How's that for art critic speak?)  If that layout ain't art I'll eat my guitar collection.

Pete

It absolutely can be an art, and I admire those who can create at that level.   We need a national MRR art museum to  preserve some of the masterpieces.

 

What I do will never rise to the level of art, but I still enjoy my layout and trains.

For me.....

I like to run trains....

I like to create miniture worlds.....

Art?...not me maybe some.

Congratulations!  You are making art, whether you know it or not.

 

Pete

What?

Huzzah, instant art:

 

Take that, Renoir...

 

Rusty

I'm tired of all the emphasis on "art" in model railroading. I'm basically a mechanic and I like to repair old equipment and make it run reliably. If you look at the state of model railroading in the 1930's, it was more about the trains themselves. It's nice to have good scenic background for running your trains, but that's not what I want to spend most of my time working on. I like to explore the limits of track-train dynamics: how long of a train can I run on these grades and curves, how can I improve loco performance, etc.

 

Let's not forget that there are many facets to the hobby. Some folks are more into electronics or operations or modelling specific prototypes. I quit subscribing to the hobby magazines years ago because I got tired of the over-emphasis on "bigger and better" picture-perfect "showcase" layouts. My all-time favorite hobby site has been Carl Arendt's "micro-layouts" website, showing creative work in limited spaces.

I think a lot of people consider creative work like Arendt's micro-layouts a form of "art"  I have a foot in both camps I guess.  I like to work on the trains but love to  Regardless, you are right that people get what they want out of it.  I have a foot in both camps: I love the challenge of a broken loco or one I want to improve, but on the other hand I appreciate the art I see in many layouts.  A lot of folks want/need an outlet for their creative juices, and what they produce on their layout is in some sense, art, or at least brings out whatever artist is inside them.

And to be a model railroader you have to have poor social skills, bad grooming, be well versed in the classic art of crop dusting and be totally oblivious to the history of the hobby.

C'mon folks, the proclaimed "father of model railroading" Frank Ellison considered the model railroad a combination of the art of running a model railroad and the art of true scale miniatures into one system.   He also used a metaphor which compared a model railroad to a theatrical production.

 

Time for all of you to step down off your high horses.

 

--Greg

Bruce thanks for posting this very interesting topic.  

 

Yes I think building a model railroad layout is an art form...from the planning stages on paper to creating the bench work, track plans, to finishing off the scenery. And yes everyone of us model railroaders has a work of art in their home or wherever their layout is located.  We don't have to be " masters" such as Frank Ellison, John Armstrong, Howard Zane, Rod Stewart, ( to name only a veru few ) before we can call ourselves " artists".  The mere fact that our railroads are creations of our individual imaginations make everyone's railroad a work of art and therefore the creator of that railroad an artist.  Some of us may be more skilled and experienced than others, however, each one's layout is the result of creative process and thereby a creative expression of their individual imagination. Everyone's layout no matter how complex or simplistic is a fine work of art just the way it is.  I believe this to be true because it is YOUR individual expression and I honor YOUR expression without any judgement in terms of good or bad.

 

When working on our layouts we can experience getting into the "zone" or tapping into a field of creative energy which allows the mind to still ( totally loosing ourself in our process of creating or building ).    This is the same field of creative energy  that any visual or performing artists ( including, Pablo Casals, Van Gough, Michel Angelo, Renoir,  Rod Stewart, Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson ) gets into when performing or practicing.  I speak here as both a professional musician and as a model railroad visual artist. I have experienced this same creative energy in both performing &practicing music, and working on my model railroad.... this energy is powerful!!

 

  All performing artists and visual artists can always look back on their most recent performance and, through the use of video tape and digital recording, see/hear where they can make changes to improve the next performance ..... just as model railroaders can view their most recent creative endeavor and either be satisfied or make an attempt to change it in some way to bring it closer to their imagination's mental image.   Art is NEVER perfect.  We must not fall into the trap of comparing our art ( layout )  with that of someone elses. There will always be more experienced skilled model railroaders than we might be at the present and at the same time we will always be more skilled and experienced than some others.  What determines the quality of our creative process is being able to tap into that energy that stills our minds and allows us to become totally absorbed in the moment as we create our model railroad art .....and did we have fun during that time of creation? Fun is what this hobby or any hobby for that matter is about.

 

We watch our art perform as, accessories operate, lights twinkle, and trains run on track plans that we have created,  through the hills, mountains, city's, towns, country side, and in front of backdrops, that we have created from within our own imaginations ....  and by viewing our show on our theatrical stage our minds are relieved from our daily pressures thus elevating our mood ( hopefully :-) and providing some fun as if we are kids again.  We love showing our art to others to enjoy so that they too are uplifted.

 

I think model railroading is about creative process and not always necessarily about an end result. After all a layout is never completed.  We are all creative artists.

Hear here!  Well said.

 

Climb up off your low horses is more like it. 

 

Pete

 

ps - trumptrain Patrick - excellent post.

Nice to read vindication to my comments that there can be art in model railroading,

and that many others, but not all, agree, as we don't all favor the same prototype.

Thanks Pete.

Patrick,

 

Thank you for the kind words, and a most thoughtful post.

 

I've enjoyed reading this thread and I feel as though I know some of you a little better after reading your thoughts: thanks!

 

Bruce E. Vincelette

Fall River, Massachusetts

The Philadelphia museum of Art must consider it Art, ask the North Penn HiRailers.