Nathan Sawaya is my hero. Seriously! He always loved LEGO® bricks as a kid, but felt he had to grow up like everyone else and became a corporate lawyer. The only difference is, he never stopped playing with LEGO bricks. And one day, he quit his day job to focus on what he really loved: LEGO bricks.
His passionate play is now an exhibit, The Art of the Brick, on display at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Before you think this is just another room filled LEGO sculptures, think again! More than 100 works of art cast the LEGO bricks in a whole new light due to the creativity, sophistication and scale of the models.
There are nods to classic art, life-size human figures and a 20-foot-long T-Rex skeleton. But my favorite part and total surprise was the use of the 3D bricks in 2D form — resembling LEGO paintings and photographs. I think I left more inspired than my 11 year old (who loves LEGOS) because I was instantly inspired to think about translating some of my own photos into LEGO art.
Get yourself over there by May 1st. Kids AND adults, you won’t be disappointed!
(LEGO artwork by Nathan Sawaya)
