VIEW IN MY ROOM
Closely Observed Trains Collage
United States
Collage, Photo on Paper
Size: 63 W x 30 H x 1 D in
Ships in a Crate
Artist Recognition
Showed at the The Other Art Fair
Artist featured in a collection
About The Artwork
This work is currently available more than 50% off. Seldom do artists wish to write about their work, or about a particular work. Even less do they have anything intelligent to say about the work or their work. By far and away the majority of art works do not need words. Artists work visually. If works needed words, they would be writers not visual artists in whatever form. To the greatest extent possible, words are redundant. That is why the vast majority of art books which are devoted to the analysis and discussion of what art works are about, are junk. They don't make sense. Very few art critics, very few, can write about art. The fingers on one hand are too may to list the number of writers who could and can write about art. And this comment applies from the time of antiquity, meaning the Greeks, who started all this stuff up to the present. In the case of Closely Observed Trains, what is said above is contradicted because, in disussing the work, there is no risk of spoiling the integrity of the work. There is no danger of devaluing its merit. And here's why. Two aspects: the phrase itself "Closely Observed Trains"and the words "observed" and "watched." Notice I said, phrase. The phrase, "Closely Observed Trains" has a resonance for me that is apart. or. in addition to. the genious of Jiri Menzel's film or the wonders of Hbabral's original text. The writer is one whose work I deeply admire and "Closely Watched Trains," its title in English, is only one of a whole set of beautiful writings, each inimicable in its own way. There is little wonder that the author is so admired within Check culture, a culture which is not short of good, and great, writers. Few English readers will know this for the obvious reason that few bother to read translated fiction. 'Nough said on that. The phrase in question has a resonance with me, for me, that is truly hard to convey, even to myself. Why should the title of the film, not necessarily accurately translated into English, stick in my mind? The simple answer is the word "observed." As with the companion work, "The Look," there is a preoccupation within this artist of the act of looking. And, finally, the power of the eyes. And the peculiar strength that emanates from them. Let no physics spoil the fun. The use of the word "observed" versus the word "watched" can lead to endless discussion. depending on your taste. Though, mercifully, not here you will be relefved to know. The connotations of the verb "to watch" are lost in English over the power and weight of the word in Check or indeed in any country where dictators have held sway. In English "to watch" is benigm} there is little or no menace. Now there will be those among you who disagree, maybe even vehmently, with me over what I have to say, but within a limited space, we cannot cover the earth. The word "observed" has a sublity in English that "watch" does not have. "Watch, at the end of the day, in English, is passive and is not direct, confrontational act that Continentals know in the languages of the ex-Nazi conquered territorities. "Observed" in English, is quite different. "Observed" suggests being watched unseen. This is arguably more menacing than being "watched." Now, notice, I did not say, life threatening
Details & Dimensions
Collage:Photo on Paper
Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork
Size:63 W x 30 H x 1 D in
Frame:Not Framed
Ready to Hang:Not applicable
Packaging:Ships in a Crate
Shipping & Returns
Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.
Handling:Ships in a wooden crate for additional protection of heavy or oversized artworks. Crated works are subject to an $80 care and handling fee. Artists are responsible for packaging and adhering to Saatchi Art’s packaging guidelines.
Ships From:United States.
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United States
It is possible, though not proven, that abilities of whatever nature, come from our genes, passed on by parents. In my case, my mother. My mother dripped art. Her sister, whom I never met, was a concert pianist though both brothers were engineers as was their father. My mother lived entirely in the arts world and I grew up in Edinburgh surrounded by artists of all nationalities. I remember visiting one, a painter. Long after my mother had left us, my two brothers and I visited an artist friend of hers. He was as poor as were we and he gave us bread slices covered in sugar. My father, an intellectual and self appointed scholar, had chosen not to work; defeated by the breakdown of his marriage. We went overnight from among the very wealthy in the city into genteel poverty since he had lost his job with the Royal Society of Edinburgh as a result of his withdrawal from the outside world. This was a peculiar upbringing. What it meant for me is that I could not do anything but choose a career which guaranteed security of employment and income throughout my life. A natural choice was engineering. I spent my life in this career for which I was quite unsuited and quite alien to me but I was good at it, I am tempted to say, very, very good, unfortunately. Now I have reached a point, with that career behind me, where I can pursue what I love and am good at. Well, better at. All those years, in every waken hour outside of the demands of the intensity which engineering requires, were spent pursing knowledge and practice of arts; art, literature, theatre and music. At college I hung around with the artists. My fellow engineering students seemed alien beings to me. I was fortunate indeed to grow up in Edinburgh and one could not wish for a fuller cultural environment. Since my mother was an artist, I was exposed early to the creation of art, both hers and that of her artist friends. Before coming to this country to join family, I lived in South Africa for a period of years, which has influenced me in ways that are not readily apparent in any of my art works. I think the profundity of influence is due to the particular light that fills the landscapes of that part of the world and the people. There is, too, a deeply felt sense of being connected to the world and to the soil upon which we stand and live. I suspect that the political situation of the time made me aware of power abused to subjugate others and to deny them their freedom.
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