Artist Spotlight: Nathan Sawaya
Wednesday 03rd September 2014
It sounds like an artist's worst nightmare: trapped in the body of a New York-based corporate lawyer. For Nathan Sawaya, it was more than just a nightmare, it was his real life. Many of us choose the artistic life because we decided early on that materialistic wealth wasn't something we were too fussed about. Those of us who've ever had to do something we didn't really want to in order to make ends meet can relate to his problem, but being a corporate lawyer seems pretty over the top. Eventually, Sawaya came to this same realization and decided to quit his lucrative job to work full time as an artist. His choice of medium? Lego bricks.
Yes, you read that correctly. Lego bricks. Not the fancy new additional pieces created to appease the ever-growing desires of today's children, just the basic block that made the company famous. According to Sawaya, he had been spending much of his leisure time trying to find the right medium for his creative expression, and after a number of unfulfilling attempts, he eventually settled on that much-beloved childhood toy that set many of us on the path to art, design and general creativity.
This isn't simply the idle fancy of a well-heeled urbanite, either - Sawaya has had his work exhibited in galleries across the United States of America, and a few places in between, such as an outdoor exhibit in New York City's Central Park. His works have been purchased by a number of well-known people from former President Bill Clinton to pop star sensation Lady Gaga. “I see the world in rectangles,” he explains. "If I am talking to someone I find myself analysing their face, working out how to recreate it in bricks."
Speaking to the Guardian, he said, "Initially, I think people expected to see what they would find in a toy store. The medium makes it easy to connect with the art, but the challenge is to convey the emotion as well." It's an important lesson for all of us to learn. If you feel frustrated by the medium you're working with, try changing thingss up a bit and go in an unexpected direction. You might just find the creative breakthrough you've been searching for your whole life - and no matter what you choose, you can feel secure in the knowledge that it's a better life than that of a corporate lawyer. Even the lawyers agree on that score!
