It's my good fortune that The Art of the Brick is currently on exhibit at The Franklin Institute. The beginning of the exhibition featured masterpieces such as Mona Lisa, The Scream and The Kiss which Sawaya has re-created with Legos.
While those works are impressive, it is his own creations that caught my attention. Below are my favorites. I tried to photograph the accompanying tag to be able to list the info, but with 3 summer camp groups of little ones wandering through also...well...a few were missed. Sorry about that!
The Art of the Brick
Facemask
piece count: 10,770
122 x 102 x 46 (cm)
"This is a self-portrait. I used dozens and dozens
of photos of my head from all angles to use as
a basis for this over-sized sculpture. It took over
a month to create this sculpture"
Facemask detail
Facemask side view
Swimmer
piece count: 10,980
33 x 198 x 75 (cm)
"In this piece we only see above the surface.
The viewer's imagination is permitted to fill
in the rest of the sculpture below the surface.
It took 15 days to create Swimmer."
Swimmer view 2
Yellow
piece count: 11,000+
89 x 33 x 71
"Probably my best known piece. Yellow always
draws a lot of attention from adults as well as children.
Why? I think we grown-ups appreciate how
cathartic 'opening oneself up to the world'
can be for our souls. And the kids? Probably
because yellow guts spilling onto the floor
looks cool. For me, this piece is about the
metamorphosis I have been through on my journeys."
Yellow view 2
Yellow view 3
Red Dress
piece count: 62,750
54 h x 34 w x 44 d
Red Dress
Dress
Dean West
type C photograph
Kodak Endura
43 h x 59.5 w
Dress detail
Hands
piece count: 15,161
55 x 98 x 63
"This piece is literally my nightmare. My hands
are my most important tool. Hands took three
weeks to create. I used over 15,000 bricks to create it."
Hands detail
Hands detail
