Legos, a Toy Straight From Our Childhood

By: Mark Deutsch

37 Craziest Structures Built with Legos. Credit: yahoo.com

Everyone remembers those mini plastic bricks called Legos, plastic construction materials to build anything imaginable. But, what if Legos can be used to build as an art medium, creating something more than what the instructions included. 

In this opinion Lego constructs should be considered art, for a good reason.

Legos started out as children’s toys, created to build anything that they wanted, until people got more serious about it. The public began to create more complex projects which included sculptures that look similar to ones hewn from stone or metal, except they were made of plastic.

In the art world almost anything can be called art, if it’s accepted in the art world. This could apply to almost anything made from glass to actual garbage… look in any museum for proof.

One case of garbage being the basis of their medium would be Yuji Agematsu, a sculptor who walks around New York. As Yuji walks along the streets he fills a little bag with garbage, after which he fills one up and then adds tree resin. Yuji’s work is quite famous for what he calls “zips.” 

Seeing this would define anything as art.

So if anything can be art then it’s a good bet that legos can fit into this category, since garbage is acceptable to use. Then there are clay sculptures that have been used for many constructive things. 

Art wasn’t the first thing that people used clay for though.

Before metal or plastic was created, clay wasn’t used for art at first; instead, it was used to make bowls or pots. Another important use for clay was to build walls for dwellings or storehouses. 

Before someone began using a material to create art, it was probably used for some other purpose.

Just like how everything was once used for another purpose before, Lego should be considered an art form. There is actually a museum centered on Lego constructs in the Legoland Resort. 

The museum holds many sculptures created from millions of lego pieces. Besides original constructs, some are art replicas.

One of these art replicas includes the Mona Lisa which artists created using Lego bricks.

Besides the famous paintings there are also ancient statues, that have been as meticulously detailed as possible. There are some slight differences but it does look like the real deal, except in plastic of course.

Besides the artists recreating famous paintings out of Legos, the main focus is on one particular amazing creation. A famous piece would be the “Yellow Man.”

It’s a piece showing a yellow brick man with his chest ripped open. This piece has a blank slate instead of an actual face; almost every figure show piece is that way.

These main figures aren’t the only pieces being showcased, in fact there are even animal or object pieces. A skeletal T-Rex is also something that’s been showcased that’s enormous; an epic build made to look like the real thing. 

Nathan Sawaya, the genius behind these creations, will only come up with more innovative creations, all made out of Legos.

He has a certificate from Lego as both a master builder and a professional making him a lego artist. This guy is the last statement and proof that Legos should be considered an art form.