Is Modelbuilding an artform???????

Modeling is an artform.

Scale models are already on display in museums all over the world.
Completed models already demand hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Just MHO...

QUOTE: Originally posted by Foster7155 Modeling is an artform. Scale models are already on display in museums all over the world. Completed models already demand hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Just MHO...

True, but typically, these models displayed are NOT as art, but as a reference item, something to go along with a particular display..

QUOTE: Originally posted by panther18 True, but typically, these models displayed are NOT as art, but as a reference item, something to go along with a particular display..

I cannot speak to the term "typically", but at the local National Museum of Naval Aviation, the majority of the models (80% or more) are unique displays in and of themselves. They are not there as part of another exhibit or as part of a theme (other than naval aviation).

As I said...JMHO...

Sure it's art.
I am an artist, my medium is plastic.
Just go look at any "art" gallery.
Now you tell me that dung, paint or some used kitchen spoon put on canvas, is "art."
Picaso? Man that guy had some serious problems and he's considered a great artist, (obviously not by me or 10 million 5 year olds that do the same thing every day on paper.)

Don

What is Art? Dunno, but I do know that artist is over used. .

Model building using a kit, even with aftermarket pieces, is not an art. At least not to me. More like paint by numbers. It is something that is assembled. That is not to take away from the talents displayed in building the kit, spending hours researching the proper colour of seat or switch shape and how many rivets are on a Spitfire. Master Model Builder Bgrigg would suit me just fine. Hey! I can dream can't I?

Same with playing a song on a piano doesn't make me an artist, only a piano player. I might be an excellent piano player (I'm not, I play guitar), but until I create the music myself, I am not an artist. Mozart was the artist, not me.

Scratchbuilding a model that is not available in kit form, IS an art, and my hat is off to those with the skill, patience, talent and endurance to complete the project.

sure its an artform, its just that most people havent come to see it as that. then again, most people just thought that modern art was junk() or a poor attempt by an amateur to make art, yet now modern art is widely accepted. it just needs time, thats all...

in my opinion yes. to take a kit throw some glue on and then say done may not be but to take the building to the level most here on this forum has then yes. i believe that type of building is an artform.


joe

This discussion really hinges on your definition of "art" and therefore is a very difficult discussion.
My definition of art is that it is a piece of work that deliveres a certain message/feeling/thought intended by the artist.
Within that definition , a model can be a work of art. But this has no direct link with the workmanship.

I would say it is an artform, but not to the degree that painting is. Most great works of art are strictly from the imagination and interpretation of reality. However, a lot of model builders are quite anal to make a REPRODUCTION of a real thing. It is still an art form, however I do not consider it to be art.

QUOTE: Originally posted by zokissima It is still an art form, however I do not consider it to be art.

OK, we are reaching the limit's of my English here, are "art"and "artform"to very different things?

My My, aren't we getting phlisophical? I'm almost tearing up reading this thread. I don't know the answer to the question (is there one?), but IMHO it takes some measure of artistic talent to create a really appealing plastic model. Some of the members in this forum have it, others don't-but we have fun with it whatever our "artistic" abilities are.

Steve

QUOTE: Originally posted by RemcoGrob OK, we are reaching the limit's of my English here, are "art"and "artform"to very different things?

An "art" is 1) any skill acquired by experience, study, or observation, 2) the conscious use of skill and crative imagination esp. in the production of aesthetic objects, also the works so produced (thank you Webster)

An "artform" is any recognized form or medium of artistic expression (again, thank you Webster)

The problem with defining "art" is that many people have a preconception that only the traditional "fine arts" qualify as true art. These are the areas we are all familiar with such as music, painting, literature, poetry, and sculpture. However, over the years, many other areas are now being recognized as art and nearly as fine art. For example, furniture making and gourmet cooking are almost to the point where they are qualifying as fine arts.

Scale modeling from a kit is most definitely not a "fine art". Scratch-building is in fact a miniature sculpture, completely created by the modeler, and therefore is most definitely "fine art". But in the strictest sense of the meaning of "art" and "artform", modeling in any form is a bonafide display of acquired skills and talents to produce an aesthetic item. In my book, that qualifies it as art. Maybe not "fine art" in the traditional sense, but still art.

Let the debate continue...

My 1.5 cents:
I was mulling this idea over in my head a few days ago and came to the conclusion that the amount of skill that it takes to airbrush a complex camoflage pattern, carve a replacement engine nacelle, paint a figure, or whatever require a certain touch ( that I am lacking) to do right. I consider this art or at least artistic talent. Having said that you will probably never see a Phil Brandt at the Gugenheim because that sort of art rarely involves a high degree of photo-realism. Now if you took a B-36 fuselage and stuck 11 wings on it at odd angles, coated it with a liberal dose of poop, orange paint, and stuck a desecrated religious icon on it you might be onto something....

QUOTE: Originally posted by crockett My My, aren't we getting phlisophical? I'm almost tearing up reading this thread. I don't know the answer to the question (is there one?), but IMHO it takes some measure of artistic talent to create a really appealing plastic model. Some of the members in this forum have it, others don't-but we have fun with it whatever our "artistic" abilities are. Steve

what's so funny about what I said. This is a question of interpretation, and obviously, all of us here being modelers, we are prone to have a somewhat biased opinion.

In any case, this is a question that's been asked on these forums lots of times, and each time it's the exact same string of replies. Is it an art/artform. IMHO, yes to a degree. Is it fine art, hell no. Someone brought up the argument that finished pieces are going for extravagant prices. The fact that someone is willing to pay big bucks for a finished product does not in any way make that product a work of art, it merely makes it a work of art to those willing to pay for it. The relative cost involved in producing something does not increase its artistic value. Either way, it's a pointless debate. I do think that models have their own place within the artistic genre of existence, why try to classify it within borders that are too limiting for the medium.

This question indeed comes up every now and then.

There's only one legitimate answer, and it's pretty simple:
Modelling is whatever YOU think it is.

You think it's art? Then it's art.
You think it's just some kind of mildly creative activity? Then that's what it is.

Nobody can tell you any different.

Nor can you tell anyone any different.

This debate comes up every few months. I don't consider building a kit or painting a figure " Art ", but I do consider it a "Craft " that requires some degree of artistic talent.

Regards, Rick

Two VERY good answers above

Indeed

I think the figure painter who can make a very realistic looking face that conveys emotion or a mood is definitely an artist. I think kit building where you are using shading and highlighting (not simple reproduction of colors), borders on art. I think the scratchbuilder who is using advanced painting techniques is an artist.
I think it all depends on the level you bring this hobby to.

Dave

So. . .
you guys don't think I'm an artist?
Man, talk about tearing up!
The keyboard is getting wet here. . .I need a moment . . .

Don

i think it is more of a craft. but that depends what your definition of "is" is.

Ok, I knew that philosophy class would come in handy one day...

Websters defines art as the 1. Human ability to make things; creativity of man as distinguished from the world of nature. 2. skill, craftsmanship. 3. any specific skill or application. 4. creative work or it's principles, a making or doing of things that display beauty, form, or unusual perception. 6. Any branch of creative work, or the products of creative work.

The term 'art', in it's broadest sense, denotes the ability to make something or to execute a plan (or a kit). Skill implies expertness or great proficiency in doing something. Craft implies ingenuity in execution, although craft is sometimes distinguished from art in it's application to a lesser skill involving little or no creative thought.

So there...I've said absolutely nothing...lol.

I think that there's both aspects...we build the kit...that's a craft. We paint and weather that kit to make it unique, that's art.

Jeff

To a certain degree modeling is an artform. It definately isn't original like a Picasso. I mean look at the 1000's of Tigers built. They are all the same vehicle, just interpreted differently by each modeler. However, they are unoriginal compared to a Venus or Mona Lisa which are one-of-a-kinds. I guess we all inpterpret our hobby differently.

I think its a 3 dimensial artform employing multi-media mediums to express creativity in an historical or perspective.

MHO...it is an art. When in real doubt...look at Eddie Miller's creations! Don't forget the "What if...?" categories that can apply to ships, cars, planes, helos, etc...

deffintely a form of art. Just think about it, we paint, so do artists. We can sculp things, like figs or custom parts, people make vases and stuff like that. And We even bend metal into shapes, more of an abstract art.

'Art' is a word used by 'artists'-it's grossly over-used. I am a commercial 'artist' but consider myself a craftsperson-just do your job or your hobby from the heart and forget words like 'art'.

All good interpretations, but I tend to hang with the side that holds most modeling as a 'craft' more so than an art, and I also share the opinion that 'art' as a word is far too overused these days. 'Art' and 'artist' should be reserved for works that transcend the medium and produce some emotional response or statement. In that respect, there is no reason why someone can't take a model and turn it into 'art', but with few exceptions this is not the case, myself included.

I think the closest thing I have seen to 'art' in the model world has been a handful of diroamas and shadowboxes, primarily done with figures, by the likes of Shep Paine, etc. But the subjects most commony modeled, e.g. military/wartime vehicles, should certainly be fertile ground for 'art', but usually the models just end up being finely crafted replicas/reproductions of vehicles, with figures arranged pleasantly to show off the maker's craft. Kind of like a still life, or a flower arrangement. Rarely have I seen the drama or 'life' in these creations that true 'art' can evoke.

I remember having this discussion many times with the members of my old IPMS club. Always a stimulating subject.

Brian B.