On Lego

In which we discuss dastardly pirates fighting chivalrous knights, cubic art, and a gift.


Growing up one of my favorite things to do was to build various Lego models.  It was always a tradition that at Christmas I would receive at least one Lego set, I would always shake the present listening for the tell-tale rattle of little plastic blocks that let me know what I was about to open.  Once we were done unwrapping all the presents the next step was to spread out on a coffee table or kitchen table and assemble the newly acquired model. I would work unceasingly until I had finished.  As I got older the models got more and more complex.  There are still a few that I assembled and put on a shelf and it is still there just hanging out.  Most of the Lego sets that I have though eventually were disassembled and put in giant tubs in our basement.  At this point is when creativity would take over.

There were always epic scenes in which pirates battle knights on horseback, racecars zoomed through airports, and space battles between robots, aliens and astronauts.  Most of this nonsense ended in crushing collisions and monstrous explosions.  In short, Micheal Bay would have been proud.  While these my creations were always lots of fun they weren't really creative in the traditional sense, I always had this grand dream to use all my Lego pieces to create something really awesome.  Maybe one day.  But then again, I am not really that artistically creative.  That's not where my creative juices flow you might say.

Some people though, man they do some cool things with Lego sets.  Like this guy (whose Flickr id is balakov) has been recreating classic photographs with Lego pieces.  Here are some examples of his work.

This is a recreation of Charles Ebbets' "Lunch atop a skyscraper" originally taken in 1932, check the original here.

Here is a recreation of Robert Capa's 1944 photograph taken during the D-Day invasion or Normandy beach, the original is here.

This is one most people will recognize, Jeff Widener's 1989 photograph of "The unknown rebel," the original is here.

Pretty impressive, these pictures certainly put my space battles to shame.  But what are you going to do.  In a slightly more functional realm of things a British man named James May designed and constructed a two story house complete with running water and an uncomfortable bed.  Unfortunately for Mr. May his house leaks, the land he built it on wants it gone, and no one seems to want or is able to take it.  An article, that you can read here, said that if it wasn't taken it was going to be destroyed.

Since this article was written back in September I am guessing that any chance for you to visit and/or own this giant eyesore was likely destroyed with chainsaws...lets leave Mr. May alone to ponder his future.

Not to be outdone in the creative realm of artistic Lego sets the Lego company began an Architecture line of Lego sets.  Taking famous architectural landmarks and building them out of little plastic squares.

While most kids would be terribly disappointed by the lack of fantastical objects found within the box I for one think that the Lego version of Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water is pretty amazing.  So if you have a hundred bucks laying around and you are feeling generous you could totally buy it for me.  I will be your best friend forever.  I promise.

Don't forget: the plural of Lego is Lego.