Art of the Brick

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2021

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nathan Sawaya is one of the best-known LEGO Master Builders – people who can recreate just about anything out of LEGO. While he's worked with major franchises like DC, creating life sized superheroes, he's also an artist who makes original sculptures out of LEGO, including human figures that seem to be grappling with existential angst. I talk with Nathan about how making these LEGO figures has been a way to work through anxiety and depression. We also discuss why he left a law career to become a professional artist, and the practical lessons he’s learned along the way -- from when to glue the bricks together, to how to get his giant sculptures out the door. And we talk about the latest addition to his traveling show The Art of the Brick, where he built endangered species out of LEGO. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you're listening to Imaginary Worlds, I show you how we create them and why we suspend
0:05.7	our disbelief.
0:07.5	My Instagram feed is full of cosplayers, action figure designers and photographers, and
0:18.4	Lego Master Builders.
0:20.6	Lego Master Builder can recreate anything out of Legos.
0:23.8	You've probably seen images of their work, whether it's a life-sized Darth Vader,
0:28.1	made out of Legos, or a 14-foot tall replica of the Empire State Building at Lego Land.
0:34.8	But this one Lego figure kept popping up in my feed.
0:38.3	It was a human body from the torso up, made entirely of yellow Legos.
0:43.3	The figure is tearing his chest open.
0:46.3	His guts are spilling out, and his guts are a pile of yellow Legos.
0:51.7	The moment I saw that figure I knew this wasn't just a great technical achievement.
0:56.1	This is a work of art.
0:57.8	It made me feel something.
0:59.4	It reminded me of moments when I felt vulnerable or exposed.
1:03.5	I wanted to know more about the artist.
1:07.5	His name is Nathan Sawaya, and he has an exhibition show called The Art of the Brick, which
1:12.3	toured the world.
1:14.1	The show has other monochromatic figures that play with similar themes of personal angst.
1:19.3	Like there are several figures holding up their faces like masks.
1:22.7	Their actual faces and their bodies are a blank slate or a sunken crevice.
1:28.2	And besides his original creations, he also recreated famous works of art for the show,
	...

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