Tag Archives: Art

Some LEGO builders elevate the form to fine art in its own right, while others enjoy reproducing famous works of art with the brick. Find beautiful and thought-provoking LEGO artwork right here.

Happy New Year 2008 from The Brothers Brick!

I look forward to New Years every year for all the great New Years-themed creations from Japanese LEGO fans. Many of the creations are in the form of New Years cards, or nengajou, which I wrote about back in 2006 (check out the 2007 roundup as well).

For 2008 — the Year of the Rat — our fellow builders across the Pacific have graced us with another batch of wonderful nengajou. Since the word for “rat” and “mouse” is the same in Japanese (ネズミ, pronounced “nezumi”), many of these feature mice.

We’ll get things going with Mumu’s best wishes for 2008:

Izzo presents a rideable mouse:

Kwi Chang uses a line art version of one of his mecha:

Mashikuf gets deliciously cheesy:

Ayucow puts mice in a pizzeria kitchen:

Finally, Maciek Drwięga (who I suspect isn’t Japanese) joins the celebrations with a bit of a bang (via Klocki):

Updates: And one more from suu:

MisaQa joins the fun (a bit belatedly, but worth the wait) with a batch of adorable mice (via Klocki):

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The everyday world of Arvo

The last few LEGO creations by the Arvo brothers may have skewed toward the fantastic, but that doesn’t mean these two guys aren’t also masters of the everyday object.

Here’s their latest — a wonderful snorkeling mask:

You can discuss this creation in this thread on Hispalug. (Thanks for the link, Carlos!)

And since we haven’t featured them here before, a few more day-to-day items:

I am not my LEGO collection

Adam Hally is both an excellent cartoonist and LEGO builder. His LEGO creations often have an artistic inclination, as his latest little scenes demonstrate.

“I am not my outdated computer”:

“I am not my futuristic designer floor lamps”:

For more, check out the full photoset on Flickr.

Vitus Barth’s Shadow World

Vitus “Tony” Barth says that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time inspired his latest LEGO creation. Regardless of its inspiration, Vitus’ mirroring of light and dark introduces a bit of chiaroscuro to his LEGO world.

Nice skull

Matt Armstrong (aka monsterbrick) created a realistically looking lego skull by gluing lego pieces over a non-lego skull model. Despite the unconventional method used, the finished product still looks nice.

I call dibs on Norman Mailer’s LEGO

Apparently, the late writer Norman Mailer was a LEGO fan of sorts. You can see him here in his New York apartment with his large LEGO sculpture in the background:

Apparently, Mailer built “a vast Lego city, incorporating some 15,000 pieces, known as the city of the future, seeming to take as much pride in it as in any of his other creations.”

According to architecture writer Lynn Becker, Mailer’s LEGO creation appears as the frontispiece in his 1966 book Cannibals and Christians:

So not only is this LEGO creation by one of the leading writers of the past 50 years, it’s built from vintage LEGO! Just the thing to expand my selection of basic bricks. I bet they’d need a good dusting, though…

Check out our previous post about writer Douglas Coupland’s LEGO obsession.

(Via KyleSmithOnline.com, with a tip from reader James Lucas Jones.)

LEGO Chuck Taylor All Stars by Matt Armstrong

I love my All Stars. So does Matt Armstrong and so does Tim. I also love Matt’s LEGO version of his red high-tops.

Hikone Castle by Takeshi Itou

Takeshi Itou may not be the most prolific builder, but his creations are always worth the wait. His latest creation is Hikone Castle. Today, the castle is a National Treasure because it’s one of the rare castles from the feudal era that wasn’t torn down or destroyed and then rebuilt in modern times as a tourist attraction.

But enough about the real thing. What makes Takeshi’s version special is the technique he used for the base of the castle; the three-dimensional rock wall is amazing, built from bricks, slopes, and tiles. The scale of the castle seems pretty close to MINILAND (as compared to the smaller minifig scale Takeshi normally builds in), which has enabled Takeshi to use plates for the roof rather beautifully.

Read more about the real Hikone Castle on Wikipedia (in English) or the 400th anniversary site (in Japanese).

(Via Klocki.)

Cry of Dreams

I’m proud to present my most significant (and most disturbing) work so far, the Cry of Dreams. This surrealist sculpture is a nightmarish dreamscape dipicting all kinds of suffering, you can think of it like Nannan’s Inferno ;) . I’ve written a piece of writing to accompany the work, and reading it will help you understand what’s going on.

Enjoy surrealism!

How to make a life-size minifig from cardboard, by Ryan Hendrix

Photographer Ryan Hendrix has created a life-size minifig from cardboard. Click the image for a description of the materials and techniques he used.

(Via Klocki.)

Miyamoto Musashi vs. Sasaki Kojiro

Aaron Andrews depicts the epic duel between 17th-century Japanese swordsmen Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, complete with rolling surf and cherry blossoms.

How to make a Pepper’s ghost, by Alex Eylar

In addition to being a band, “Pepper’s Ghost” is a stage technique in which actors appear as ghosts in the production. Alex Eylar has tried his hand at creating this illusion in LEGO:

Click the image to read Alex’s description of the building and photography process on MOCpages.