Beautiful LEGO

September 9, 2013
Legos have been a building block of childhoods around the world for decades (the Danish company, the Lego Group, was founded in 1949), but as graphic designer Doyle demonstrates in this impressive collection of 360 Lego models, they’re far from child’s play. The book showcases the work of 77 artists, who offer a wildly divergent results: from portraits of Freddie Mercury and the monsters from Alien to dissected frogs, space stations, and chromed-out hot rods. Though Doyle humbly waits until the middle of the book to showcase a few of his own sculptures, they are among the most striking. His stark black-and-white renderings of an elegant Victorian house damaged by an uprooted tree, as well as the book’s cover (a massive futuristic city with countless spires) are nothing short of breathtaking. Brief bios of the creators accompany each entry, with the artists discussing what drew them to Lego bricks and their approach to design. One featured artist, Jordan Schwartz, may have achieved the ultimate goal: landing a job at Lego as a product designer due in part to his creations. Surprisingly, the book doesn’t include specifications such as the dimensions of the pieces or the number of bricks used, nor are there images of works-in-progress. If readers can forgive that, they will be mesmerized by this astonishing collection. Full-color illus.

January 1, 2014

Contributors to this volume elevate LEGO construction to an art form. For these 80 builders, many of whom are self-admitted geeks, ambitious builds provide the perfect balance of technical challenge, problem-solving, and creativity. The LEGO block also has appeal as a recyclable medium owing to its precise manufacturing standard since 1958. The selection here is curated by Doyle, a graphic designer and LEGO artist known for his 200,000-brick fantasy cityscape Contact I as well as models of abandoned, deteriorating Victorian houses. The results of his worldwide call yielded a variety of online submissions, including works of architecture, fantasy worlds, monsters, and robots, ranging from simple figures pared down to their essence to technically complex and intricately detailed naturalistic figures. Doyle has enhanced the images for publication in print, retouching the figures and adding backgrounds. He provides brief biographical interviews for several of the best-known artists to reveal their beginnings, inspirations, and artistic challenges. VERDICT Fans of LEGO building will find inspiration in this volume, and others will be astonished by the surprising, fun creations.--Nancy B. Turner, Syracuse Univ. Lib., NY

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