{"id":930,"date":"2009-08-18T10:21:34","date_gmt":"2009-08-18T17:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp\/2009\/08\/trains_-_from_lonesome_whistle\/"},"modified":"2009-08-18T10:21:34","modified_gmt":"2009-08-18T17:21:34","slug":"trains_-_from_lonesome_whistle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/2009\/08\/trains_-_from_lonesome_whistle.html","title":{"rendered":"Trains – from lonesome whistle to shining toy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planned for 2012, Jeff Koons’ life-sized replica of a motorized train will be suspended from a construction crane at the entrance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. (Christopher Knight, LA Times, here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"jeffkoonstrain.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The price tag for “Train” is $25 million.
\nI’d assume that’s a ballpark guesstimate, because engineering and
\nfabrication costs have a way of evolving over time. The
\nsteel-and-aluminum “Train” is a 70-foot replica of a 1943 Baldwin
\n2900-series steam locomotive, and the aim is to suspend it vertically
\nfrom an actual 161-foot-tall construction crane. The wheels will
\nrotate, smoke will puff from the smokestack and the whistle will blow,
\nall at as-yet-unspecified intervals.
\nAt LACMA’s blog Unframed, John Bowsher, director of special art
\ninstallations, was quoted in October describing the design-process as
\n“reverse-engineering.” An actual 1943 machine is being digitally
\nscanned, piece by piece, so that the new parts then can be fabricated
\nand assembled to create a shiny doppelg\u00e4nger.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In an earthquake zone, the hubris of the project is notable, but if any artist can make it work, it’s Koons. Unlike Damien Hirst, whose shark continues to rot in its tank, sagging against its supports despite interventions, Koons places a premium on fabrication exactitude. <\/p>\n

Despite its size, Train<\/i> is reduced to an absurdity. If constructed, it will steam to no purpose in the heart of car culture. That’s what art continues to say about trains, that they are an echo of an echo, a memory to cling to in sentimental song, the ultimate road not taken.<\/p>\n

Makes sense that American artists would see it this way, but European? Christoph Draeger is Swiss. We’re a long way from Sleeping Car Murder<\/i><\/a>.  <\/p>\n

Christoph Draeger<\/a><\/p>\n

\"christophertrain.jpg\"<\/span>Glenn Rudolph<\/a> (and here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"glennrudolphtrain.jpg\"<\/span>Eirik Johnson<\/a>: Scrapped train, Arlington, Washington<\/i><\/p>\n

\"eirikjohnsontrain.jpg\"<\/span>Erika Langley<\/a><\/p>\n

\"erikalangleytrain.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Planned for 2012, Jeff Koons’ life-sized replica of a motorized train will be suspended from a construction crane at the entrance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. (Christopher Knight, LA Times, here) The price tag for “Train” is $25 million. I’d assume that’s a ballpark guesstimate, because engineering and fabrication costs have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}