On Saturday, Feb. 18, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon, opened “The Art of the Brick,” a LEGO-themed special exhibit created by artist Nathan Sawaya. The exhibit, which features a variety of complex sculptures and art pieces made of thousands of LEGO bricks, intends to take the medium “from child’s toy to sophisticated art form and beyond,” according to the OMSI website.
Jennifer Powers, featured exhibit assistant manager at OMSI, hopes the popularity of LEGO and Sawaya’s impressive installations will attract a broad audience. Some of the sculptures are made of more than 20,000 individual bricks and vary wildly in visual style. “Yellow,” which greets visitors at the front of the exhibit, features a LEGO-ized man tearing a hole in his chest to reveal an empty interior. Other pieces include recreations of popular paintings like the “Mona Lisa.”
“It’s just awe-inspiring,” Powers said in an interview. “[The exhibit] is such an amazing combination of art and science.”
“Yellow” by Nathan Sawaya (Courtesy of OMSI)
“The Art of the Brick” emerged out of Sawaya’s need for a creative outlet while working as a corporate lawyer in New York. “Most nights I would find myself snapping bricks together even before I ate dinner,” Sawaya said in an email to the Emerald. “It felt good after a long day of negotiating contracts to build something with my hands.”
Once Sawaya began posting photos of his work online, it didn’t take long for the self-taught artist to gain a significant following.
“I realized it was time to leave the law firm and pursue my passion,” Sawaya said. “I quit my job as a lawyer, opened an art studio and took the leap of faith.”
That leap of faith has paid off. Since building his first creations as early as 2002, Sawaya has found enormous success. “The Art of the Brick” has toured in museums around the globe, from the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei, Taiwan to the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Sawaya also founded The Art Revolution Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting arts education.
(Courtesy of OMSI)
The combination of art and science at the heart of “The Art of the Brick” reflects the museum’s mission to “ignite an education transformation at the intersection of science, technology and design,” according to OMSI’s official website.
In order to take advantage of the predicted popular interest, OMSI will host a variety of activities and labs designed around education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) within the exhibit. The activities and challenges are intended for all ages and celebrate the versatility that LEGO bricks give to audiences. In one lab, visitors are tasked with building a boat out of bricks that can float on water.
In addition, OMSI will offer a variety of classes for all ages that feature LEGOs in the summer of 2017. According to Brian Berry, director of classes and traveling programs at OMSI, a total of 15 classes will be added to the museum’s already substantial science curriculum.
For Sawaya, the ideas inherent in the exhibit make it a great fit for the museum. “Inspiration comes from all sorts of places,” he said. “It all starts with an idea. And finding that idea can be the most difficult part.”
“The Art of the Brick” will remain at OMSI through May 29. Tickets start at $19.75 for adults and $13.50 for children 13 or younger and can be purchased at OMSI’s website.
Lego artist Nathan Sawaya at work in his office. (Courtesy of OMSI)
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