Different Trains.

I recently completed an assignment for university which involved us having to choose between three resources and then creating two dimensional and/or three dimensional works.
I chose Steve Reich's 'Different Trains' and aimed to explore the notions of travel, childhood and music.
I found Reich's composition (performed by the magnificent Kronos Quartet) incredibly interesting and, having watched a university lecture and completed some readings, decided that the contrasts between travel - specifically trains of course - and childhood was of strong significance to the piece. Certainly, Reich himself had recalled that a major influence in writing 'Different Trains' was this famous photo of the war due to the fact that, when a similar age, Reich closely resembled this boy in looks yet had vastly different experiences.

My presentation of my work.

Indeed, Reich grew up as a secular Jewish child in America, regularly taking train trips between New York and Los Angeles on Pullman trains to visit his divorced parents. This experience is explored in the first section of the piece, suitably titled 'Before the War - America'. I explored this through an abstract pencil drawing of smooth lines, referencing the steam of the trains, leading up to a darker point that symbolises the passage to war and America's involvement in World War II. For this section I also created a postcard with a single red thread marking out the route taken by the composer when he was a child.

'Before the War - America'

The second section, 'During the war - Europe' was depicted through another abstract drawing. This time the drawing sought to reflect the chaos and turmoil of the war through following the wails of wartime sirens. As my tutor remarked when I presented this assignment in class, to make this clearer I could have drawn these using charcoal or ink, the stronger lines more effectively reflecting the heightened experiences and negative consequences of war. 
Nevertheless, to further the contrast between childhood and travel, I made a cattle cart carriage out of felt. I aimed to convey the contrast between cattle carts and Pullmain trains and, by using felt, hand embroidery and filling the 'toy' with newspaper, sought to create a rough, hand-made feel to it, to suggest that a child or parent made it to release a child from the horrors of the situation.

'During the War - Europe'

I depcited the third section, 'After the War' through an abstract drawing closely linked to the lyrics of the composition. This section begins with the declaration that war is over and the subsequent questioning of such a declaration due to disbelief. It then moves into reflecting upon the war. In the bottom left corner I used dark lines to represent the war. I then drew lines moving outwards, hesitantly, questioningly, before becoming stronger, longer, and more confident and then arching back on itself. I aimed to explore the act of looking back on the past before, and whilst, moving forwards, hence, the delicate feathers of the top right, moving slowly onwards. The object to support this was a small cello made out of balsa wood. I felt that it was important to draw attention to the fact that Reich's composition itself was an act of reflection and a way to memorialise the war and to commemorate the lives lost. The red strings of the cello symbolic of the bloodshed of war and the idea that, as the Kronos Quartet are performing the song, they are reaching out and connecting with the war and peoples experiences of it.

'After the War'

The drawings are all formed using only lines, no tones, shading or colouring, and each of the objects uses a thread. This aims to reinforce the idea of the common thread of humanity and empathy that connects us all despite our varied experiences.

The drawings in order from left to right.