Modeling, art or science?
By Mario Covalski
I think that human beings are subjective by nature, and speaking in terms of tastes, everything we like, may not be objectively, the best or most proper. I could give hundreds of examples from cigarettes, clothes…and so on.
What’s the matter about our hobby, do we really represent what it actually is or whatever we like to see?, Are our models accurate exponents of the real thing or artistic representations?...finally: is modeling art or science?.
Thinking about a topic for this editorial, some thoughts kept running through my mind about models I had seen, and how in the end, they were related to the aforementioned questions.
Do we really represent what it actually is, or what we want to see?
An interesting question, nobody said that modeling should be perfect, and we can represent the reality or an interpretation of it, the so-called art.
Now then, if modeling is a kind of art, why trying the accurate reproduction up to the minimal detail of the real thing? I’ve seen armors or aircraft built after extensive research, without a rivet left… but were weathered so much, that didn’t look realistic at all.
Have you seen tank crews applying oils or drybrush?.... , of course not!!
What we, modelers do, is to use these artistic tools or elements to represent what we imagine ought to be real, then, we’re making art, not a science.
Here, you may agree (or NOT) with me, that modeling means art, if so, why becoming obsessed with an accurate reproduction?, that will never be perfect in the end, because perfection doesn’t exist and even can’t be reached for a scale model that represents a real thing 10, 20 or 30 times smaller.
There are people around modeling, who are terribly critical of models, who spend their life giving others lessons about what’s good or bad…without having them built yet, let’s say without having reached the artistic stage of the modeling creative process. I think they’re anachronisms, monuments to the non-construction of models….
To be honest, I believe that it’s time for modeling to change the course, to let those who feel that it’s merely art, be able to express themselves freely, and enjoy, cause in my opinion, this is in the end, the main aim of building a model
Tags:
--