If you enjoy being outside and ever had a fascination playing with LEGO® Bricks then the current exhibit at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is the place to be.
Nature Connects: Art with LEGO® Bricks exhibit
13 unique sculptures ranging from huge, creepier than life spiders to life-sized bonsai trees that were created by artist Sean Kenney are there for the awe of anyone that has ever created anything from a LEGO®. His sculptures on display at the arboretum use anywhere from 9,143 to 84,442 LEGO® bricks.
The detail and amount of work that went into each piece is unbelievably good. Above is a close up and panned out shot of “Galapagos Tortoise and Finch”. You can find it in the Iris Garden of the arboretum. It is constructed of 23,317 LEGO bricks and no matter how many times you walk around it you will always find some new minute detail to enjoy.
Hummingbirds are my all time favorite bird so imagine my excitement at seeing the “Hummingbird on Flower” sculpture first thing as I walked in the arboretum! Kenney’s tallest sculpture at the arboretum and it was created with a whopping 61, 107 Lego bricks.
At each installation there is a plaque that gives additional details about the sculpture, it’s size and how long it took to build. “Giant Pansy Bloom” took 126 hours to build and is constructed of 29, 314 LEGO bricks!
The plaque also gives additional insights into the item being presented, in this case a pansy. It states that “the edible flowers have a minty flavor and can be used to make syrup.” Definitely going to have to try make pansy syrup! (Anyone have a good recipe?)
Walking into the conservatory of the Snyder Building you aren’t exactly sure what to expect. The air is damper and the plants become more tropical. Not the kind of place where you would want to run into a spider… Especially not a giant one.
Not only are the sizes of each installation impressive, but the thought and detail Kenney put into each piece is exceptional. Take the “Giant Corn Spider” sculpture for example. Both the front and backside are done to the degree that it’s what you would expect to see if you caught a corn spider in the wild. He didn’t just concentrate on the tops of each piece, but rather the whole of it.
If you go:
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska MN 55318
Nature Connects: Art with LEGO® Bricks exhibit now through to August 30, 2015
Hours: 8 am – 8 pm