Plastic fantastic: Lego artist's extraordinary creations built from 500,000 bricks go on show

By JAMES NYE

The mother bison is made up of 45,143 pieces of LEGO and the calf is constructed from 16,229 and is on display at Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University

Just like all of nature is interconnected, these intricate LEGO sculptures are built from nearly 500,000 bricks and are the first exhibition of their kind on display at Reiman gardens in Iowa.
The 14 displays range from six inches high to nearly eight-feet long, with the largest sculpture, a mother bison, made up from 45,143 individual bricks of the popular children's toy.
Created by master LEGO artist and sculptor Sean Kenney and entitled 'Nature Connects', Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University will be the first public garden in the U.S. to display sculptures made from LEGO bricks.

The intricate rose (left) is made up of 41,242 pieces of LEGO while the butterfly (right) is skillfully built using 37,481

This interconnected piece of LEGO art is made up of 31,565 pieces of the children's toy

Based out of New York, Keeney is one of only eleven artists certified to officially work with LEGO, known as LEGO Certified Builders.
The pieces are glued together one-by-one by Kenney and his team of assistants, and are supported by steel frames.

A bumblee LEGO sculpture by Sean Keeney made from 16,383 pieces of LEGO

Each of the themed displays at the gardens is an exploration of nature and how it is affected by its environment and man.
The bison and calf are literal representations of what happens if man comes close to almost eliminating a species because of their interconnectedness to their environment, the prairie.
While the fox and the rabbit are meant to show two species closely linked by the food-chain and their ecosystem.
With his work having been featured on television, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC news and Good Morning America, Sean Keeney is one of the preeminent LEGO artist on Earth.
In 2005, Sean was named as the first person in the world to have professional LEGO artist status and he also runs MOCpages.com, the world's largest LEGO fan community.

Showing off the role man has to play in nature, this garden worker constructed from 37,497 LEGO bricks (left) works near to four Goldfinch's each made from 575 LEGO pieces

A dragonfly created from 6,535 pieces of LEGO by Sean Kenney

In his Queens, New York studio, Sean has access to around 1.5 million LEGO pieces at any one time and the biggest sculpture he has created was a polar bear made from 95,000 pieces.
'Unlike traditional mediums, the toy immediately connects with so many people on such a personal level,' explains Sean on his website seankenney.com
'Each sculpture touches people as both a reflection from their childhood and as a sculptural piece of art.'

Sean Kenney, the master LEGO builder poses with his work at his Queens studio in New York

One relies on the other: A fox created with 17,547 pieces of LEGO stalks a rabbit made from 1,361 LEGO bricks



source: dailymail