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highvoltagearea · 4 years

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Artist Uses Lego Bricks to Make Lifelike Sculptures of Animals

Making a career out of building with Lego bricks sounds like a dream job—just ask any kid (or many adults, for that matter). But it’s the real deal for Sean Kenney, who turned his childhood hobby into a full-time career. For more than 15 years the New York City-based artist has been creating masterpieces using Lego bricks as his medium of choice. His creations—from towering skyscrapers to portraiture—have been featured at museums and zoos around the world, inspiring people of all ages.

His latest project, “Nature Connects: Art with Lego Bricks” is one of his most ambitious endeavors yet. Currently on tour at a number of zoos, botanical gardens and arboretums across the United States, including the San Antonio Zoo; the Denver Zoo; Flamingo Gardens in Davie, Florida; and the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, the traveling exhibition, which launched in 2012, showcases a collection of life-size and larger-than-life replicas of plants and animals.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly(Flickr user Carol VanHook)

Like most kids, Kenney spent his free time playing with Legos. As he got older, he honed his artistic skills as a cartoonist, studying visual arts at Rutgers University. Upon graduation he worked as a graphic designer, often incorporating Lego bricks into his work. Living in New York City, he drew much of his inspiration from the bustling city surrounding him, creating renditions of the Empire State Building and Greenwich Village among other familiar sights. It wasn’t until a botanical garden in Iowa approached him about making replicas of some of its flowers and plants that he made the natural world his subject. His work began touring to other institutions across the Midwest and proved so popular that zoos began commissioning him to make reproductions of some of their animals.

“Over the years I’ve been continually growing this body of work, and I keep on building,” Kenney says. “I literally just made three flamingos that are now on display at the Denver Zoo.”

Snow leopard(Flickr user Linda De Volder)

Add that feathery flamboyance to a growing assortment of more than 150 animals, including lions, polar bears, buffalo, snow leopards, peacocks, butterflies and ducks, and you have a menagerie of Lego sculptures that look surprisingly similar to the real critters. But getting them to appear lifelike is no easy task.

“One of the biggest challenges is trying to get the softness of [an animal’s]features and the expressiveness of the face right while using what is otherwise a very blocky, low-resolution medium,” he says. “To me, that’s one of the most fun things to overcome. When you’ve done it, you’ve really done it. You step back and are proud of it.”

Kenney recalls a woman at one of his shows turning to see his sculpture of a snow leopard crouched down like it’s on the prowl. She actually jumped back, thinking it was alive. “Knowing that I got the face right means I did it right,” says the artist, “and that’s why the challenge is worth it.”

Mallards (by Sean Kenney)

To pull off this feat, Kenney collaborates with a group of artists who work together in teams of two or three to create each sculpture. Most pieces start out as rough sketches on paper, which are then transferred onto graph paper or computer models to plan out the basic shape and size of the animal. Kenney likens these to “Pixar characters.”

“We gather source photography and other information online,” he says. “Sometimes we watch YouTube videoes to see the subject in action.”

The artists then use these blueprints as a point of reference as they click together Lego bricks to build a prototype. Once Kenney has a prototype he likes, the team begins building the final piece. From start to finish, a single sculpture can take thousands of bricks and many months of labor to complete. The largest sculptures can take up to nine months to construct. Builders glue each and every brick together as if they’re building a brick wall. A lion, for example, took 474 construction hours and 48,248 bricks to build.

“There’s still a lot of stuff that we do the old-fashioned way, like when we’re adding facial features or we need creatures to interact with each other and show emotion,” Kenney says. “We’ll grab all the funny-shaped Lego pieces like circles, triangles and slopes, and bricks that look like wheels and windows and coffee cups. The real fun is trying to figure out how I’m going to make [an animal’s]eyes look real by using circles and arches.”

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Kenney is quick to point out that he only uses bricks that are available to the general public. “None of my sculptures are made with special Lego bricks,” he says. “I use the same ones that children play with.”

As Kenney has perfected his ability to capture the essence of different species, he’s expanded his reach to focus on animals that are either extinct, like the Dodo bird, or endangered. A piece called “Deforestation” features an incredibly rare Formosan clouded leopard found in the mountains of Taiwan. The species’ habitat is being threatened and it was believed to be extinct until the leopard was spotted by several witnesses in 2018.

Polar bears (Flickr user Linda De Volder)

“We placed the leopard so that it’s looking back at an excavator that’s destroying its habitat,” he says. “We first designed this for a local audience in Taipei but realized there’s a global story there. It’s since been on display in the United States and Europe.” It’s slated to be on display at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in the fall.

Kenney’s pieces are proving popular with audiences not only because they continue the conversation about conservation, but also for their sheer craftsmanship. Hope Roth, who is the vice president of marketing at the San Antonio Zoo, which has a newly opened drive-through zoo that’s been a draw during the Covid-19 pandemic, says that “Nature Connects” has helped “elevate the experience” the zoo offers. The exhibit features 30-plus sculptures, which will be on display through the end of the year.

Jumping Koi (Sean Kenney)

“Every summer we try to bring in an exhibition that’s going to give more value to our guests, and his pieces do this,” Roth says. “His work is amazing and so impactful when you see it in person. We placed the majority of the sculptures where they’re visible when driving through the zoo. You can really see the artistry.”

While the Denver Zoo, Flamingo Gardens and North Carolina Arboretum don’t offer drive-through options, Kenney’s Lego creations are outdoors and interspersed throughout the sites’ grounds. All three locations, as well as the San Antonio Zoo, are following strict safety measures during Covid-19, encouraging guests to keep enough distance between one other and mandating that visitors where face coverings.

Fox Chasing a Rabbit (Sean Kenney)

While Covid-19 may have put a damper on traveling, it hasn’t stopped Kenney from creating new Lego sculptures. For 2021, he’s dreaming up a “colorful, punchy and playful” exhibition called “Nature POP” that gives the natural world a new spin.

“Imagine a lawn full of giant bunny rabbits in polka dots and stripes, or a neon-blue woodpecker on a lava-lamp tree trunk,” he says. “All built with hundreds of thousands of Lego bricks. It’s going to look amazing!

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nikkismickeytrips · 6 years

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May 22, 2017

Our 2017 Hollywood Studios visit was a bit of a mess. It was a bit of a rough day with many hiccups and one minor catastrophe.

Diva and I had a breakfast reservation at Trattoria al Forno. Really, it was for the entire family but the boys decided to sleep in and just meet us at Hollywood Studios. We ate our breakfast and were right on schedule for a short boat ride to Hollywood Studios. As we got on the boat Grumpy sent a text to say that he and Peanut didn’t make it to the bus on time and had to wait for the next one.

We procrastinated by taking pictures in front of the park. Before marching in. I mean literally marching. I wish I had the camera ready as she strutted her stuff down the red carpet laid out right before the gates.

Credit: Photopass

We were really killing time because the boys had just boarded the bus when we entered the park. She chased bubbles as we walked down Hollywood Boulevard. We walked by Echo Lake, she played around in Animation Courtyard, she followed some Stormtroopers on patrol, and then we finally took a seat just outside the area to wait for their arrival.

The plan was to meat Chewbacca first, but Peanut decided he wasn’t interested so we shifted our focus to meeting Olaf. We entered the line and already couldn’t wait to be inside where it was cool. It wasn’t even 10:00AM but it was already showing signs of being a toasty day. We were going to need to Frogg Toggs out early today. Olaf was fun. The kids were excited to give him warm hugs right away. It was nice and cool at Olaf’s beach and we could have stayed there for a lot longer.

Credit: Photopass

Next stop, Peanut and I are going to ride Star Tours. Grumpy said it triggered his motion sickness last year so he’s going to pass on riding again. I don’t get motion sickness, but I completely understood why he wouldn’t take a second ride. It would be definitely be something I could skip if it wasn’t for my kid wanting to ride.

While we were on Star Tours and checking out the gift shop Grumpy and Diva went on search for fun and came up with one of her favorites: Goofy!

It was getting hotter. But our next two FastPass+ are inside so we think we’ll be able to manage a little while longer. First we get to Toy Story Mania with perfect timing at the end of the FastPass+ window. The line moved so quickly and it was over in almost no time. Onto the Disney Jr. Show– we scanned in and then suddenly it was a potty break emergency. The Cast Member was helpful getting me in and out of the line. I always worry about looking rude and like we’re cutting in line. We got back JUST in time to enter the building.

Ah, there’s air condition. The room quickly packed full. Everyone was a little restless. It was taking a while to get started. But Finally they came on stage. Then stopped. Now a second try. All the kids get wound up and yell their name…. and then the host disappears again. Hmm… I haven’t seen this before. One more try…. and fail! “We’re sorry, but due to technical difficulties this showing of Disney Jr. is cancelled.”

So far we’ve been about 30 minutes late starting our day, changed our plans, I’ve been jostled around on Star Tours, Disney Jr. was cancelled, and the heat is showing signs of wearing us out really early. This day is not comparing well with last year’s 14-hour visit. Let’s just take a break and regroup. We grabbed lunch at ABC Commissary and decided it’s best to hit the pool for the main heat of the day. We’ll come back for the evening.

After a long break we made it back to the park around 4:00PM. We walked into the March of the First Order. Perfect timing. It’s looking like it’ll be a better afternoon.

Next, we’ll try to find the same character meeting we did last year. Another success. We missed out on pictures with Robin Hood, but my daughter was having so much fun with Goofy’s son, Max. They even shared a dance. The Evil Queen was there again and tried to teach the kids her evil ways. Minnie was trying to get Grumpy’s affection, but he just thought she was shaking hands. Finally he gave her a peck on her hand and she blushed. And Aladdin wanted to take us away on to a far, far away land.

See Kenny the Pirate’s website for more details. Link on sidebar.

The dancing was so sweet:

And Minnie was too funny:

We’re all set for dinner at Hollywood & Vine. Dinner was good but this is where our catastrophe begins. We sit down at the table and Grumpy looks at his phone. The screen says it’s restoring data. Huh? It’s been in his pocket most of the time we’ve been at the park. It shouldn’t be restoring anything. He’s kind of a techie guy so he tries a few things. Suddenly he’s locked out of his phone. This causes a distraction during dinner but we make it through.

Peanut really wants to see Indiana Jones. We have a FastPass+ booked.

Diva really wants to see Minnie again at the restaurant. She has put her Minnie dress on and needs a picture.

Grumpy is frustrated about the phone.

I haven’t had nearly enough time to enjoy the dessert buffet.

Time to split up. But that’s not so easy when suddenly we have no communication. So we go old-school and pick a specific time and meeting location.

It works out. We find each other. Peanut raves about the Indiana Jones show.

We need to make some calls. Verizon, LG, and Google all keep blaming the others and basically saying there is absolutely no way to unlock the phone for 24 hours.

24 HOURS!!! We’re in Disney. There are tens of thousands of people. We are splitting up again tomorrow for different activities. Holy cow, how did anyone do anything in crowded places before cell phones! This is a real damper on our mood.

Oh yeah, and it’s about to get really damp outside too. Here comes a storm. We hid from the rain at the Great Movie Ride and then took shelter outside the ride until the rain slowed. We tucked the kids under the rain cover and rushed to Toy Story Mania. There had been a FastPass+ available that I grabbed after the Great Movie Ride. One ride down and the standby line wasn’t too long so we jumped back in. At the top of the stairs before the loading area the ride came to a halt. We waited. And waited. Then the inevitable came the ride was closing for an undetermined amount of time. We saw EMTs entering the building as we were lead out the entrance.

The rain was a very light drizzle now but there was some lightening.

We decided to try another phone call to see if we could get the phone unlocked while we walked towards Fantasmic. With the rough day we had we couldn’t wait to see the show. While on the phone with LG we heard the disappointing news announced over the speaker system– Fantasmic is delayed.

Sigh… it’s time to give up on the day. We’ll try again tomorrow at Epcot.

Trip Report: Hollywood Studios (2017) May 22, 2017 Our 2017 Hollywood Studios visit was a bit of a mess. It was a bit of a rough day with many hiccups and one minor catastrophe.

#Disney Planning #Disney Vacation #Disney World #Hollywood Studios #Travel #Trip Report #Walt Disney World

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