trendy train model

   We've had an unusual amount of response when our last post about Chris Burden's model railroad sculpture was posted on the WMRC's Facebook page. But the best reply came from our own John Longhurst, who made a post on his own blog, the Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision, about an Canadian visual artist named Kim Adams who also uses model railroading equipment in his art, which was displayed in the Art Gallery of Ontario.

    Whether you agree with his approach or not, he might be on to something, because he was awarded the Gershon Iskowitz prize of $50,000 for his efforts! You can buy a lot of ground foam for that kind of money!

    To see John's post on Kim Adams, click here.  To read more about Kim Adam's 2013 exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario, click here.

   One of our readers sent this image in of a massive sculpture with a model railroad theme, which was displayed at New York City's famed Museum of Modern Art. It's titled Medusa's Head, and it's the work of the sculptor Chris Burden, who passed away last May.

    We'll never know what prompted him to incorporate model railroad equipment into this sculpture. He was also fond of incorporating Meccano and Erector Set parts into his sculptures. Needless to say, it's not an operating layout. Perhaps a more suitable title would've been "Meltdown at the Gateway after the DCC went haywire".