Nathan Sawaya

Being the big sister means you constantly have to think of things to do with your little siblings to stimulate their minds, capture their attention, inspire their creativity, and tire them out by the time they get home. 

I've always been an advocate of children exploring their creativity, so when my youngest two siblings got into Legos, I was the one supporting their expensive hobby even though my parents kept complaining about finding Legos in every corner of the house and stepping on tiny ninjas and doll accessories. They started out just being interested in building what was on the box, then my sister got the brilliant idea to make her own scenes for her toys. I was definitely on board and a trip to the craft store quickly followed.

One day on a subway ride home from the city, I saw an ad for a Lego exhibition at the Discovery Times Square Exhibit. It's like the Lego gods were speaking to me. There's no way my brother and sisters wouldn't absolutely love this!!!! So one cool summer afternoon, I packed some snacks and we headed to Times Square. 

First off, let me take a quick second to breathe....it's always hard for me to talk about the $106 I paid to get in there. But there were five of us....but then again, I'm a broke college student! 

Ok, im good now. 

The exhibit is called The Art of the Brick and its a series created by artist Nathan Sawaya. Now Nathan is a true kid at heart. He's one of those people who always loved the freedom and playfulness of toys but tried to fit himself to the mold of the corporate world and found out what a lot of people already know: it's not for everyone. And so he began to pursue his lego hobby more and more with larger more intricate pieces. One day someone offered to pay for one, and just like that his art career began. 

 The exhibit is beautiful. There's a lot of variety in the pieces and a lot of familiarity to the New York area (like the I love New York poster or lady liberty). It starts out with Nathan's interpretations of some world famous art pieces like the Mona Lisa, The Girl With a Pearl Earring, Starry Night, and Michelangelo's David to name a few. 

Then Sawaya gets intimate with his personal portraits of his wife. 

And he gets experimental with plays on human figure, juxtaposing the body with shapes and light and shadow. 

A cool thing about this exhibit is that Sawaya leaves you with the conclusion that building with Legos is endless, although he never mentions that building with Legos is expensive. I mean, which big sister paid for the 18,000 bricks used to create this T-Rex?!?!

I think the best part of the exhibit was at the end where Nathan showcases some young Lego talent. That was the most inspiring part for my little brother who now wants to create something "so awesome they'll pick it to be in here." 

And best of all, the last piece in the exhibit, is a piece still in the making. It consists of individual Legos placed by the visitors of the exhibit. And now we're a part of it too. 

~ Lisa L.