Photographer Balakov, in his own words, “[takes] quite a lot of Lego pictures.” Perhaps you saw his work, Raising the flag on Iwo Jima and Monk on Fire, on Smashing a few days ago. If you check out his flickr photostream, you’ll find a lot more Lego recreations of historical photographs (and a bunch of Lego Star Wars stuff). Photographs I especially recommend that weren’t in the Smashing article are Moon Landing, Lunch Atop a Skyscraper, Bigfoot, and my personal favorite, Tiananmen Square.
The Brick Testament is also a fantastic use of Legos, especially for nerds with some basic knowledge of the Bible. The Brick Testament has memorable takes on some classic Bible stories, but my favorite section is The Law. Leviticus has never been more exciting. Which, admittedly, isn’t difficult. Nevertheless, Legos are an awesome way to translate the timeless values of the Bible to the church of today. Or something. Maybe we can all gather to read the Brick Testament in this Lego church.
It brings a big smile to my face to see childhood (i.e. Legos) invading adulthood (i.e. historical photography, religion) like this. I grew up with Legos, so my reaction has a lot of nostalgia mixed in with the appreciation. I also have a huge tub of Legos in my closet, which I still bust out every once in a while. But let’s just keep that between the two of us, dear reader.
This does bring to mind the imminent potential for online Lego-action historical reenactment role-playing—a notion which is at once startling and intriguing.
Update: I just discovered that OpenCulture, one of my favorite blogs, wrote an entry on June 10th about Balakov’s Lego recreations as well. Balakov is surely enjoying his internet fame—and rightly so!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: art, flickr, games, Legos, photography
