You should see the kids in the Contemporary Gallery of The Nassau County Museum of Att leaning into the Lego® sculptures by Nathan Sawaya. They were so excited—art that they could relate to, something worth being schlepped to a museum for.
Nathan was originally a corporate lawyer. While studying law at NYU, he built a Lego® model of Greenwich Village. Imagine how thrilled his mother must have been when she heard he was leaving the law for Lego®. But now, she must be saying, “My Son the International Brick Artist,” because that’s what Nathan Sawaya has become. Six years ago he won a Lego® building contest at Toys R’Us and left his lucrative job for a $30,000 a year gig as a Lego® builder at Legoland®. His work is now in private collections and museums all over the world, as well it should be. According to journalist Scott Jones, “Sawaya is a surrealist mash-up of forms and artists. Imagine Frank Lloyd Wright crossed with Ray Harryhausen, or Auguste Rodin crossed with Shigeru Miyamoto, and you start to get a sense of where Sawaya is coming from.” http://brickartist.com/about/
When we think of the mediums artists work in: oil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, etc. why not Lego®?
And why not have children delighted at museums instead of turned-off?
http://eastmeadow.patch.com/events/nassau-county-museum-of-art-presents-lego-art-nathan-sawaya-recent-works-4f4fd113
http://abovethelaw.com/2010/03/nathan-sawaya-gives-up-corporate-law-for-legos/
Nathan was originally a corporate lawyer. While studying law at NYU, he built a Lego® model of Greenwich Village. Imagine how thrilled his mother must have been when she heard he was leaving the law for Lego®. But now, she must be saying, “My Son the International Brick Artist,” because that’s what Nathan Sawaya has become. Six years ago he won a Lego® building contest at Toys R’Us and left his lucrative job for a $30,000 a year gig as a Lego® builder at Legoland®. His work is now in private collections and museums all over the world, as well it should be. According to journalist Scott Jones, “Sawaya is a surrealist mash-up of forms and artists. Imagine Frank Lloyd Wright crossed with Ray Harryhausen, or Auguste Rodin crossed with Shigeru Miyamoto, and you start to get a sense of where Sawaya is coming from.” http://brickartist.com/about/
When we think of the mediums artists work in: oil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, etc. why not Lego®?
And why not have children delighted at museums instead of turned-off?
http://eastmeadow.patch.com/events/nassau-county-museum-of-art-presents-lego-art-nathan-sawaya-recent-works-4f4fd113
http://abovethelaw.com/2010/03/nathan-sawaya-gives-up-corporate-law-for-legos/
