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In lugnet.general, "jonathan lill" <jonathanl@myriadweb.com> writes:
> Do you make things you consider art?
Some things...,yeah, kinda art "for fun" more than "fine art" in my case...
A lot of stuff I build is stuff designed only to appeal to me -- just my
mind wandering -- but some stuff is designed to (hopefully) appeal to
others, and gets polished...
I kinda consider these art...
http://www.lugnet.com/~1/Chess/
...to the extent that they're mainly for looking at (can't play with 'em!
:-) but then again they're really just for imagining what a whole board of
pieces like that would look like if I actually had the elements to build the
sets.
I definitely consider this art...
http://www.lugnet.com/~1/SpiderWalker/POV
...but only to someone who enjoys looking at it and/or imagining they're a
minifig standing below the spider. I had one of the renders as my desktop
pattern for a while, then I got tired of it. What makes it art, though, in
my mind (and again, I'm not trying to presumptuous and say that it's great
art or anything) is that it was tweaked a lot and designed from square one
to be something to show to people as an illustration type of thing. I spent
a whole Saturday playing with the lighting and stuff -- more than I would
have if I was just doing it for myself to visualize the object in 3D. It
was more work than fun, and that also makes it seem more like an "art" kind
of thing to me.
These photos here...
http://www.lugnet.com/~1/DinoTron/
http://www.lugnet.com/~1/DinoTron/all
...aren't what I think of as "art" so much as fictitious product design.
That is, they're not designed to be looked at per se (although I think
they're fun to look at, and I hoped others would enjoy looking at them) but
to sort of "sell" the "sets" that they represent. IOW, if I could make my
own LEGO sets and have LEGO ship them to my in boxes with my own cover art,
they'd be box cover art -- if that makes any sense. So in that sense I
think of them as art.
I have some pictures up of a little spaceship I made, and I definitely don't
consider that (the model) or the pictures (of the model) to be art.
Boy, this is a tough question.
For me, it totally depends on the model, the presentation, and what I wanted
to convey.
> Do you consider your Lego creations artworks?
I consider my "DinoTron" creations artworks -- but that's about it. I think
they're fun enough to look at on a shelf that I'll probably bring them into
work and keep them "on display" there. They were at a local toystore in a
glass case for a few months. (Now they're collecting dust in a box. :-)
> Do you make things which aren't strictly speaking Lego creations but involve
> the use of bricks (i.e. multimedia collages)?
I'm sure I've done this, but I can't remember anything specific... :-(
I think I've used LEGO bricks as part of non-LEGO creations in a more
utilitarian way and not an art way.
> Do you call yourself an artist?
Only when I'm creating art that doesn't suck. :-)
> Are you a professional in a creative field such as graphic or industrial
> design or architecture?
Some art background in high school and college (standard drawing classes,
etc.) but basically no. Hard-core technical geek.
> Are you able to utilize Lego in your profession apart from merely sharing
> your enjoyment with your coworkers?
I'd love to be able to, but not yet.
> If both building and playing with Lego is a creative pursuit, how does it
> differ from other creative pursuits such as painting or sculpting?
Hmmm, easier to tear down and rebuild/rework sections that didn't come out
right, or need tweaking...and the ability to move a LEGO model/object in 3D
or move around/about a LEGO model/object in 3D is really nice. LEGO seems
real because you can touch it, hold it, love it.
> If you don't consider your Lego creations art, why not?
Mostly they're just for fun...whatever happens happens. I think art is
usually a combination of planned and unplanned. My stuff that I don't think
of as art doesn't really have a planned feeling. My stuff that I do think
of as art has a more consistent and comfortable feeling -- it's been planned
as something to show, so the "user interface" to other people had to be
thought through carefully. Maybe that's what makes something art, in my
mind...
> I have hesitated asking these questions because I foresee the matter
> devolving into a debate of "WHAT IS ART?" But I am not interested in any
> strict definitions or in making blanket statements. I want to know how
> people personally feel towards what they make and how they differentiate
> their Lego activities from what they do in the rest of their life or from
> what other people do.
I think this is a great thread!
> I have read that many of the posters here are people involved with
> computers, engineers, programmers, mathematicians, etc. This makes sense as
> those fields have a lot to do with the constructive, logical, and systematic
> aspects of Lego. I have seen Lego models built by professional architects
> and they have an obvious connection as well. At the bottom of this inquiry
> is the question of what the activity of playing with Lego really consists of
> and how it is or can be integrated with one's life.
>
> Response to any of these issues would be appreciated.
> By the way, I have seen some models of museums of art in Lego bricks but I
> would be interested in seeing brick creations that are truly abstract and
> not imitations or representations of everyday, or real, objects.
I seem to remember, there's a book that LEGO made about 10 years ago in
Europe, covering that very subject.
--Todd
[followups to .people]
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Is Lego Art, or what?
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| I am really bored at work today so I am taking this opportunity to ask all you LUGNET people questions which have been interesting me a bit. I spend much of my time away from work making art. I consider myself, in part, an artist. Unfortunately this (...) (23 years ago, 16-Feb-01, to lugnet.general)
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