16 AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY 1 2008
B U I L D I T A N D T H E Y W I L L C O M E
It did just that for 34-year-old Nathan Sawaya back in 1978, when his grandpar-
ents presented himwith his first set of LEGO blocks, or bricks, as they’re called in
LEGO-speak. Today, binafterbinofcolorful LEGOscramsSawaya’sNewYorkstudio,
wherehe carefully crafts the tiny cubes intogiant organic architectural sculptures
— like those in his series of three-dimensional, life-size human forms, whichmust
be seen to be believed. His commissioned pieces sell for as much as $65,000, and
a collection of his creations is currently touring museums across the country in
the Art of the Brick, the only exhibition to ever focus exclusively on LEGOs as an
artmedium.We recently talkedwithSawaya about his art form and asked how he
transforms something soordinary into something so extraordinary. —JayeRevell
Howoldwereyouwhenyougot yourfirst set
of LEGOs?
Iwas five. I remember ripping into the package and
building a LEGO house right then, oblivious to the
rest of Christmasmorning.
Whatwas it about them that drewyour inter-
est and inspired such creativity?
Playingwith LEGOs letmy imagination control the
playtime. If Iwanted to be a rock star that day, I
couldbuildmyself a guitar. If Iwanted to be an
astronaut, I couldbuildmyself a rocket. Also, with
some other toys, if you lost a piece, then thewhole
toy couldn’t be playedwith. But not sowith LEGOs.
Thatfirst LEGOhouseyoubuilt inyour parents’
living room turned intoaLEGO cityas you
workedon it over thenext 12years. Just how
elaboratedid it get?
It had the staples of any city, like afire station,
hotel, park, and hospital. It also had somemore-
unique establishments, like a LEGO lake, a LEGO
ski lodge, theEmpire LEGOBuilding, and a LEGO
amusement park.
Howdid that childhoodobsession endup turn-
ing intoaprofession?
I starteddoing large-scale LEGO sculptures in
2000. Aftermyfirst few, I postedphotos of them
Remember the excitement you feltwhen youwere a kid opening
your presents onChristmasmorning?Well, would you have ever
imagined that opening one of those gifts could change your life
and cement your future career path?
BrickbyBrick
