Major League Baseball did a short interview about my new Yankee Stadium sculpture...

Watch the interview on MLB.com. (4 minutes)

Posted by Sean at 9:17 AM
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This sculpture is an observation on the financial crisis currently engulfing the world.





Background

September 15, 2008 marked the start of a financial crisis worse than anything in our lifetimes.

Like two giant stones thrown into a pond, the sudden and total collapse of two very big, very old companies (Lehman Brothers and AIG) caused ripples in our economy. It was becoming clear that the systems we use to control and organize money just don't work.

Every day for weeks, the ripples grew. The world's financial systems begin to fall apart at the seams. Major banks folded. Big companies were going bankrupt. The stock market was bleeding. People's retirements savings were wiped out. And the governments of the world panicked, spending unheard-of amounts of money to try to fix the problem. No one is sure how or when this will end...






A short order

In the stock market, big time investors can place what's called a "short order" to make money off falling prices. They profit when everyone else is losing. It's symbolic of the entire investment banking industry: a way for the rich and powerful to make tons of money off all of the hard working people in the world.






A short order cook

At my local deli, the short order cook leaves a jar on top of the counter for tips. The day after this crisis began I was getting some eggs for breakfast and noticed that the cook had written on the tip cup: "Euro & Peso accepted too". It seemed symbolic of the entire crisis, and begged the question, "is the sun setting on the United States?"

I realized that both the short order cook and the short order investor were in the same financial mess... But at least this time, the hard working person was the one making the money.



















This tip cup from my local deli inspired this sculpture.

Labels: businessman, cook, deli, figurative, financial, human, lego, male, man, newspaper, sculpture

Posted by Sean at 12:30 PM
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September 21, 2008 marks the closing of Yankee Stadium, an 85-year-old piece of New York history that is being supplanted by a newer, bigger stadium.

Together with a Manhattan gradeschooler and over 45,000 LEGO bricks, I have been building a sculpture of Yankee Stadium over the past three years. It will be complete in the next few months; these preview photos give you an in-progress look at the sculpture. The sculpture is 5 feet wide and 5 feet long, built to an approximate scale of 1:150.




The "façade" (above) is a unique feature of Yankee Stadium that fans know and recognize. It was very important to get this visual feature correct!






"Monument park" (above) includes placards and monuments to famous Yankees players, like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Lou Gherig.




The building is built to look as it does to this day, including all of the modifications that were made over the history of the building (above). When complete, it will be populated with tons of miniature people, hot dog vendors, scoreboards, and more.










An elevated train line runs alongside the stadium. When complete, it will contain a microscale New York City subway train, with lots of traffic and crowds on the street below!








Batter up!



Working on the stadium
I am building the sculpture together with a Manhattan grade schooler. We began work on the sculpture in February 2006, working whenever the boy had available time. The pictures below were taken during the course of 2006, 2007, and 2008.











The stadium will be complete in a few months -- Check back soon for an update!

Posted by Sean at 4:44 PM
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New for 2008, the book 50 Years of the LEGO Brick presents the LEGO brick's history as well as stories around its creation and its use by children and adults everywhere.

I am very proud to have been a part of this book and to be a part of the new history of LEGO toys.

The book contains historic photos, removable reprints from old LEGO catalogs, and interviews with LEGO designers, LEGO fans, and more.

I have been featured throughout the book, most prominently in a five-page section that begins with my quote, "I am a child by profession." The book includes stories about my work as a LEGO Certified Professional, photos of many of my LEGO creations, as well as some quotes.

You can buy it on Amazon.com (About $50).
(Also available in German: 50 Jahre LEGO Stein)

Posted by Sean at 7:39 PM
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On 08/08/08 at 8pm, all of the worlds eyes turn to China as it hosts the 2008 Olympic games. This will be a great moment for China, who is now given a historic chance to showcase its culture and its country to the world. Millions of people who never would have visited China or learned anything about it are now visiting and seeing the country at its proudest and most glorious.

It is China's moment to shine and to show the world how much of an amazing place it is; and I wanted to celebrate this momentous occasion in sculpture.




See more photos and read what the heck this thing is supposed to be

Posted by Sean at 12:03 AM
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In spring 2008, Mazda commissioned LEGO sculptures of their sporty hatchback car, the MazdaSpeed3... one for every dealership in Mexico. They are on display at auto dealerships across the country throughout July and August 2008.



More photos and contest information

Labels: car, lego, mazda, mazdaspeed, mexico, sculpture

Posted by Sean at 4:56 PM
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I recently finished a sculpture of the Empire State Building that was installed atop the real Empire State Building. The sculpture was commissioned as the centerpiece of the Empire State Building's observation deck gift shop. Yesterday's official announcment marked the opening of the store! The sculpture is now on permanent display high above New York City.



The building is over 4 feet tall and contains 13,000 LEGO pieces. There's also a great little "very New York" street scene at the base of the model.

Read more and see photos

Posted by Sean at 11:30 AM
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