Museum Center's LEGO exhibition encourages all of us to become plastic brick artists

 
When The Art of the Brick opens at the Cincinnati Museum Center on Oct. 23, it presents LEGO bricks not as a construction material but as an artistic medium.
 
“The exhibit is the world’s largest collection of LEGO artwork ever displayed,” says Cody Hefner, manager of media relations at Cincinnati Museum Center. “There are over 100 pieces of art in the exhibit; about half are original works by Nathan Sawaya, the other half are reproductions of classic works like ‘Mona Lisa,’ ‘Girl with a Pearl Earing’ and ‘American Gothic.’ The exhibit takes a toy that most of us have played with at some point in our lives and transforms it into works of art.”
 
Although Sawaya’s work focuses on artistic subjects, the engineering and math elements usually associated with LEGO are still a factor. The free-standing pieces he creates must be self-supporting and made entirely of LEGO bricks. The exhibit includes several life size human sculptures, each made up of 15,000-25,000 LEGO pieces.
 
“The exhibit really does show that science, technology, engineering and math all have applications outside of the laboratory and can be art,” Hefner says.
 
As part of the programming around the exhibit, the Museum Center is holding monthly Design and Build Challenges, starting with a Superhero Challenge.
 
“We’re asking people to color outside the lines and to use their imagination to drive their design,” Hefner says. “If they want to create a LEGO Batman or the Hall of Justice out of LEGO, they’re more than welcome to use only their imagination as a guide, not instructions that come with a kit. Each of the themes is tied into other exhibits, programs and events around the Museum Center, so there will be more resources for people seeking inspiration or ideas.”
 
A panel of judges, which may include local arts leaders, other local celebrities and even Sawaya himself, will select a winner in each of four age categories: 5-9 years old, 10-14, 15-18 and 19 and older.
 
The winning entries will be displayed in Brickopolis, a companion gallery conceived and designed by the Museum Center’s exhibit team. In addition to displaying the Design and Build Challenge winners, Brickopolis will offer space for visitors to play and build, including the opportunity to build your own portrait out of LEGO bricks.
 
“The exhibit shows how much can be done with this simple plastic brick if you just unleash your imagination and explore your creativity,” Hefner says. “We wanted a space for people to be inspired to make their own LEGO artwork. In the Brickopolis gallery, there are no guidelines or regulations or instructions and no expected outcomes.”
 
All Design and Build Challenge participants, including the winners, are encouraged to participate each month.
 
“We want this to be an ongoing challenge,” Hefner says. “We hope people who participate feel a sense of ‘Look what I built! Now what else can I do?’ Some people don’t realize they’re artists, but when they take a pile of bricks and make something, we hope that they learn something about themselves and what they’re capable of. We want people to continue to push the envelope and explore what they’re really able to do.”
 
Submissions for the Design and Build Superhero Challenge are due Oct. 12. Design and submission guidelines are available online.
 
The monthly Design and Build Challenge themes will be announced one month before the due date on the Museum Center’s website and Facebook page.