• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
City Dads Group

City Dads Group

Navigating Fatherhood Together

  • About
  • Cities
  • Boot Camps
  • Press
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Contact

The Art of the Brick: LEGO Eye Candy Hits Times Square

July 25, 2013 by Lance Somerfeld

The Art of The Brick
Engaging with a LEGO person

Some artists specialize in acrylic, oils, clay or steel to follow their passions and create masterpieces displayed in art studios or museums.  Artist, Nathan Sawaya, went through NYU Law to become an attorney. Consequently, he found that creating sculptures out of LEGO bricks was more rewarding than negotiating contracts in a boardroom and decided to pursue his passion.  An artist specializing in LEGO bricks – that is unique!  I was recently complaining about spending $60 for the LEGO City Passenger Jet, and Sawaya told me that he spends six figures on purchasing LEGO bricks each year.  That’s a lot of LEGO bricks!

Nathan Sawaya - The Art of the Brick, Discovery Times Square
Posing with artist, Nathan Sawaya

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a preview tour of the “The Art of the Brick” with the artist, Nathan Sawaya, at Discovery Times Square –  with over 100 works made out of millions of bricks, it’s the largest display of LEGO art ever assembled!

The overall experience was jaw-dropping to any parent or child that enjoys messing around with LEGO bricks. My son and I were fascinated by the creativity and level of detail displayed in the clever, three-dimensional sculptures.  Sure, some children will look at some of the creations and say, “I can do that!” However, it makes you wonder how someone can be so talented to take a simple children’s toy and transform it into an inspirational masterpiece.

We’ll try to highlight a few our favorite pieces below, but they aren’t close to replacing the “being there” experience with your children.

Our recommendation: Must See it

Negative aspect of the exhibit: Similar to a museum, you CAN’T TOUCH any of the artwork which was quite a challenge not just for the kids, but for their parents too (shhhh, I might have touched a few including the swimmer).  We can’t wait to visit the exhibit again for an upcoming meetup with the NYC Dads Group. Plans are in the works so lots of dads and their children in our meet-up group community will get to participate in this truly unique experience.  Stay tuned.

Exhibit Details: The Art of The Brick at Discovery Times Square runs until January 5, 2014.  The exhibit is open seven days a week.

The Thinker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angry Dinosaurs

 

Visitors can add a LEGO brick (provided at exhibit) to a mega-structure

You might also enjoy:

Filed Under: events, NYC Tagged With: Discovery Times Square, Lego

About Lance Somerfeld

Lance Somerfeld, co-founder of City Dads Group, lives with his wife and two children in New York City. He frequently contributes to the conversation about modern fatherhood, work-life balance, shifting gender roles, and brand’s marketing to dads. He has appeared on local and national television, including CNN, Today and Katie. He has been quoted by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, GQ, Parenting and The Atlantic.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join Your Local Group

Your local City Dads Group is a welcoming and diverse community of engaged fathers sharing parenting perspectives, knowledge and experiences.

Join Join your local group

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Find us on Social

  • About City Dads
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 City Dads Group All Rights Reserved.