Three years ago, artist Joan Belmar made the decision to move to Poughkeepsie, NY, after living in Washington, DC for 20 years. In lieu of driving, Belmar takes the train to commute between New York City and his studio, both due to the close proximity of the train to his studio, as well as the beautiful view of the Hudson River that he gets to admire on his journey.
One night, as he laid awake in bed, he could hear the train’s whistle and was transported back to his first train trip as a young boy to the south of his native Chile. Enveloped by nostalgia of his youthful journeys, Belmar was inspired to create a homage to his trusty steel friend and the reminiscent sounds it makes.
Video credit: Railroad Tracks, by Joan Belmar, 2021, sound and video, 3 minutes 18 seconds.
Joan Belmar: SIGHT, SOUND from Transformer on Vimeo.
Belmar also created the playlist, “The Railroad Sound,” that he created just for this program.