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WHATS ON NOW AT SM&NC
Architecture of the Imagination: The Lure of the LEGO® Brick Featuring Nathan Sawaya: The Art of the Brick™
March 2 - August 17, 2008
Sponsored by Life Options, LLC & The Aron Family
More than just child's play, the nearly iconic LEGO® brick has become an art medium all its own.
"LEGO® is a phenomenon," explains Curator of Collections Rosa Portell. "They are deceptively simple, but it is in this sheer simplicity that their success lies. The uses are only limited to the imaginations of their creators."
New York-based "brick artist" Nathan Sawaya has elevated LEGOŽ construction to an art form. Besides recreating objects and buildings - which he does, brilliantly - Sawaya uses the LEGO® brick as other artist's use canvas, stone, or clay: to express himself and to challenge viewers to interpret his creations. His amazing "Red, Yellow, and Blue" series explores emotion through the human form, reaching an artistic level not usually associated with a toy. Sawaya has been featured on some of the biggest talk shows around including The Today Show, Late Night with David Letterman and The Colbert Report. His works are on display in major museums across the country. Visitors to Architecture of the Imagination will have the opportunity to see Sawaya at work on a new piece on Sunday, June 29.
For more information on Nathan Sawaya and The Art of the Brick, visit www.brickartist.com.
A second part of the exhibition, All Aboard with Bill Probert and Friends, explores LEGO® bricks as engineering tools. Bill Probert of Fairfield, a LEGO® train aficionado and hobbyist extraordinaire, will share his one-of-a-kind trains and lead a group of Stamford High School students in creating a constantly evolving trainscape. During the run of the exhibition, visitors can come and watch the students at work adding buildings and other elements to the layout.
In the last portion of the exhibition, visitors will be invited to try their hand at creating their own brick masterpieces in an interactive, hands-on portion of the exhibition.
Donations of LEGO® bricks are being sought for the hands-on, interactive portion of this exhibition. Please donate new or gently used bricks in the Bendel Mansion (main building) lobby.
Architecture of the Imagination: The Lure of the LEGO® Brick featuring Nathan Sawaya: The Art of the Brick will be on view in the Stamford Museum & Nature Center's Bendel Mansion Museum Galleries Sunday, March 2, 2008 through Sunday, August 17, 2008.
For more information, call 203.322.1646 ext.6521.
Members: FREE | Non-Members: Free with gate admission: Adults $8, Seniors & Students $6,
Children (4-17) $4, Under 3 FREE.
RELATED PROGRAMS
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Artist at Work
June 29, 11am to 4:30 pm
Meet artist Nathan Sawaya, and watch him at work on a new piece.
Trainscape Design
Visitors can watch the All Aboard with Bill Probert & Friends team at work on select Saturdays during the run of the exhibition.
Play-Well Engineering Programs
April 26, May 31 & June 14, 1:30 to 3 pm
Come out and join the Green Revolution! Using LEGO and other building systems we will design and build environmentally specific devices. Kids will learn while they play! Programs are available for pre-K through fifth graders and will focus on a variety of engineering topics.
Play-Well Pre-Engineering (PreK4 - Kindergarten)
Create, Play, and Learn. Build a house, town, pyramids, towers, and more. Build cars and race them; crash them; repair them. Explore the many possibilities of LEGOŽ building systems while learning useful construction techniques.
Please note: These classes available on April 26 and May 31 only.
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Play-Well Green Engineering Basics (grades 1 - 2)
You'll build cars powered by different energy sources, like sun-power, testing alternative methods. We'll also explore building energy efficient houses and learn about our sustainable Earth.
April 26: Basic car and house building techniques.
May 31: Move up to solar cars.
June 14: Renewable energy houses and the sustainable Earth.
Play-Well Green Engineering (grades 3 - 5)
You'll design and build machines and vehicles powered by renewable energy sources. We'll explore different energy systems such as solar, wind and water, building wind and water mills to power buildings and houses.
April 26: Solar cars and drag racers.
May 31: Wind and water machines.
June 14: Renewable energy sources powering buildings and our sustainable world.
Materials: All Materials will be provided.
Note: NO MATERIALS OR FINISHED PROJECTS CAN BE TAKEN HOME BY CHILDREN.
Pre-registration required; please call 203.322.1646 x6521.
COST PER SESSION:
Members: $25 | Non-Members: $30
COST OF SERIES (ALL 3 PROGRAMS):
Members: $70 | Non-Members: $85
MINIMUM OF 12 PARTICANTS NEEDED FOR EACH PROGRAM |
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UPCOMING EVENT
Carriage House Motor Cars, Ltd.
presents the 5th Annual Model Ts to Mustangs Saturday, May 3, 2008, 11am-3pm
Awards ceremony at 2:45 pm
Our 5th annual Model Ts to Mustangs outdoor antique and classic car display presented by Carriage House Motor Cars, Ltd., of Greenwich returns Saturday, May 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. David Greenberg of Stamford and Rosa Portell, the Museum's Curator of Collections, have teamed up again to co-curate this fun and classy event.
As an added feature this year's show will include a special section dedicated to the Packard ("Ask the Man who Owns One") automobile. Early entries include Malcolm Pray's 1934 Packard Le Baron Dual Cowl Phaeton; Robert Weiss' 1937 Packard 120 Convertible Coupe; L. Scott Barnard's 1941 Packard 160 Super 8 Convertible; and Ken Stebbins' 1942 Packard 110 Custom Convertible. The Stebbins' car was delivered to its original owner the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. All four models exemplify the best of American pre-war design.
"The 'Highlighted Marque' feature this year allows us to focus on one of America's classiest automobile manufacturers, the Packard Motor Car Company. One cannot view these breathtaking cars without longing for the return of a golden era in American automobile design," says Rosa Portell, the show's co-curator.
The show will be judged and awards - including a "People's Choice" award - will be presented in several categories. The awards ceremony will be held at 2:45 p.m. Participants may also opt not to have their cars judged if they wish.
Also new this year is a hands-on children's pedal car section, where young visitors can pretend to drive "just like mom and dad."
Admission for the public is included in entrance fee (Adults $8; Children ages 4-14, $4; seniors 65+, $6; Children 3 and under, free). All proceeds to benefit the Museum's educational programs and gallery initiatives. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase.
To find out whether the show has been postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather, call 203.322.1646.
Information for interested exhibitors can be found under Call for Entries. The show, which is juried, is by application.
To volunteer, call 203.322.1646 ext. 6530 or e-mail volunteer@stamfordmuseum.org. For application, call 203.322.1646 ext. 6543 or e-mail rportell@stamfordmuseum.org.
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