Mike Newby
Trains of Thought
Traditional model railroading is, for the most part, devoted to the faithful and exacting representation of reality in miniature. Historical authenticity and attention to detail are highly valued. Mike Newby stands this ethos on its head by creating, with characteristic model railroading materials and methods, a landscape that mixes standard model scales (O-scale = 1:48, HO-scale = 1:87.1, and N-scale = 1:160), conflates history, and is dedicated to humor rather than verisimilitude. Trains of Thought offers a host of verbal and visual puns based on railroads and philosophy. In Newby’s world, one encounters Socrates, Plato, Freud, Jung, assorted Existentialists, and front porch philosophers – among others – cracking wise amidst the mountains, trees, and trains.
Mike Newby creates formally straightforward and elegantly crafted sculpture in both representational and abstract modes. The titles of his artworks often involve imaginative wordplay, which activates visual puns and introduces narrative and humorous content to his objects.
Image: Mike Newby, Inflatable Respiring Trains of Thought, (detail), 2007, Lent by the Artist