Nathan Sawaya’s "Art of the Brick" In Limited Six Week Run at OMSI

Portland, OR, USA /PRWEB/ —  Playing with LEGO® blocks takes on a whole new meaning to visitors of the The Art of the Brick exhibition at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Opened March 17 for a limited six-week run, the new exhibit features the most expansive U.S. collection to date of large-scale sculptures created exclusively out of LEGO toy building blocks by well-known artist Nathan Sawaya. LEGO stylings from other local artists are also on display, along with a variety of hands-on activities, demonstrations and challenges.

Sawaya’s creations comprise one of the largest and most popular art exhibits currently touring the world. Based in New York City but raised in Veneta, Oregon, Sawaya transforms the popular plastic construction toy into amazing showcases of creativity, innovation and fine art. Like most young kids, Sawaya began playing with LEGO blocks at a young age. Unlike most, he never stopped building, creating and exploring his own imagination.

“I use LEGO bricks as my medium because I enjoy seeing people’s reactions to artwork created from something with which they are familiar,” says Sawaya. “Everyone can relate to it since it is a toy that many children have at home. I want to elevate this simple plaything to a place it has never been before.”

The Art of the Brick visitors will have the opportunity to try their own hand at LEGO brick ingenuity. In addition to “free-build” LEGO and DUPLO® play areas for all age-groups, a series of interactive demonstrations ranging from engineering challenges, artistic endeavors and even robotic programming and testing will take place.

“This exhibition highlights a crossing point between an iconic children’s toy, engineering, and the creative process,” says David Perry, OMSI’s Director of Museum Education. “OMSI is known for breaking down complex concepts and making them fun. Here we’re giving visitors the opportunity to appreciate art, but also learn about basic construction and unique ways to use familiar, everyday materials.”

Exhibition elements from Nathan Sawaya include life-sized statues, portraits, giant chess pieces, representations of the solar system, Mount Rushmore and many more artistic renderings of both real objects and abstract concepts.

The Art of the Brick will be open to OMSI visitors for six weeks only from March 17 to April 29, 2012.
The price of the exhibit is included in general admission. Members are free. For more information, visit http://www.omsi.edu. For more information on Nathan Sawaya and The Art of the Brick, visit http://www.brickartist.com.

Demonstrations include:

Engineering Challenges – Given a set number of bricks, visitors:

• Build a wall and see how much force it takes to knock it over.

• Build a boat and predict how many marbles it can hold before it sinks.

• Build a bridge or span and estimate how much weight can it hold or how far it can stretch.

Build and Showcase Your Own Creation – Visitors temporarily display their own art piece or science invention, along with a description card.

LEGO Robots – Visitors program and test their own robot using special programming to create a sequence of actions such as kicking a small ball, wrestling another robot or following a line while moving forward.

Nanotechnology – By building with LEGO and DUPLO bricks using clumsy tools like oven mitts, visitors experience the difficulties scientists face in manipulating microscopic or nanoscale particles.

Architecture – Visitors compare completed models of famous architecture to learn about artistic and engineering aspects of design, then build their own structure with LEGO bricks.