Afternoon of a faun

They say that dance is sculpture in motion. It follows, then, that a frozen moment of dance is an ideal subject for sculpture. This exquisite LEGO sculpture of ballet dancers from David Hughes reminds me of physics class. When I look at it, I see little force vector arrows showing weight distribution, gravity, and muscle mechanics. As it would be in real life, the ballerina’s weight is fully supported by her partner: her toes touching the ground are a mere formality. Based on a famous photo of ballet star Tanaquil Le Clercq, who was tragically stricken by polio at a young age, this large sculpture contains over 3,000 bricks, and it’s amazing how few of them are attached to the base.

Afternoon of a Faun 3