The world's children become sculptors. See the article "Hi sculptor...I mean you!!!

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Hi sculptor...I mean you!!!
by Asbjorn Lonvig

I visited Legoland in Billund, Denmark this weekend.
As I do every year.
A family tradition.
Any in our family, who wants to go join us.
This year one worked at Greenland Home Rule.
One was busy writing a term paper at the University.
One was at work making sure Telia survives in the cell phone market.

The rest of the family joined our Legoland tour.
Grandma paid.
I go to Legoland for numerous of reasons.

My children and their children love it.
My children's spouses have to love it.
I love it.
My spouse has to love it.

I had just talked to someone in Minneapolis
about a sculpture.
The "M" in Minneapolis.

And I had talked to someone in Denmark
about a sculpture in Kolding.
The sailing sculpture "4K" in Kolding Castle Lake.

And it struck me that what I saw in Legoland were nothing but sculptures.
And after that I really did photo.
Photo-Fat-Dad, my family calls me.
A name I got in China by my sons - because of my photo enthusiasm.

Never mind.
I got my 150 digital photos to choose from.
I just had to join the laughter that arose as we saw "Photo-Fat-Dad" as we entered Legoland.
My family had no doubt in their minds, that I had posed for the LEGO designers and builders.

Photo-Fat-Dad really went crazy.
You might believe he was a Japanese. Japanese are known as enthusiastic photographs, too.

And little story from my travel in Australia springs up:
On a guided tour inside The Arts Centre in Melbourne, which is kind of Melbourne's Sydney Opera House,
a Japanese tourist was accidentally  trapped in one of the many huge rooms.
He was stuck for several hours.
As he was found, we asked him very caring:
Weren't  you afraid?
Weren't  you thirsty?
Weren't  you hungry?
But you needed to go to the bathroom?
No, my only problem was, I was run out of film...

Here are some of Photo-Fat-Dad's photos from Legoland:

              
 
       
 
         

   
 
               
 
    

...and all of this is built out of small bricks size 31 x 15,5 x 9,5 mm, that is 1.22 x  0.61 x  0.37 inches.
Millions and millions of bricks.
For the Bergen, Norway landscape there has been used 2.347.000 bricks.

Children's needs - and good old Marslow

I hear a lot about children's needs.
And the problems that arise if children's needs are ignored.
Some have problems concerning self esteem.
Some have problems concerning creativity.
Some have problems concerning learning.
Some have problems concerning social behavior.
Some have problems concerning stimulation from grown ups.

It's lack of psychological balance we talk about.

Good old Maslow - Abraham Maslow - is known for establishing the theory of a hierarchy of needs.
He says that the basic needs are physiological needs such as air, water, food, sleep etc.
My theory is that Marslow forgot one basic need.
LEGO.

When children build with LEGO under the guidance of grown ups
many of the above problems are avoided.

Building with LEGO is building self esteem and self confidence.
Their creativity is trained.
They exercise playful learning.
Building together with other children and grown ups improves their social skills.
Building with LEGO bricks brings peace in the children's minds - at least for a while.

How does LEGO built all those sculptures

One brick alone is...a brick.
Two bricks combined in some way - you have created a sculpture.
I'll show you how LEGO creates sculptures.

They have an idea.
They research.
They design.
They built.
They  exhibit.

Like the creation of every other sculpture.

I was invited to see the LEGO Studios.
To the right you see Fredensborg Castle in the LEGO Studios.
Ready to be placed in the Legoland park.
Ready to be revealed by the Crown Princess Mary and the Crown Prince Frederik. Fredensborg Castle is the Crown Prince Couple's residence.
The most amazing about the building of LEGO sculptures was a computer system, that transforms drawings into layers of LEGO bricks.
This system makes everything much easier to the builders.

The most disappointing thing was that inside the huge LEGO sculptures there were metal skeletons.
Of course from an engineering point of view the skeletons have to be there.
But.
I have deleted this knowledge from my memory.
It distracts my perception and fascination of the giraffe.
Never ever tell this to the children.
It's like telling them, that Santa Claus is just grandpa.

Hi sculptor...I mean you!!!

You might be a parent, you might be a grandparent, or you might be a child.
Let us build sculptures.
Build a model of a sculpture.
Build whatever you would like with LEGO bricks in the colors you prefer.
Photo the model.
Send the photo attached to an e-mail to sculpture@mail.dk and I'll exhibit it on the world's largest online gallery, which is AbsoluteArts/WWAR - World Wide Arts Resources in Columbus, Ohio in USA.

Our new art galley is called "Children's LEGO sculptures".
See our art gallery logo to the right.
See the art gallery at http://galleries.absolutearts.com/galleries/lego-sculpture/
or click on the logo.

Tell me in the e-mail:
What's the title of your sculpture?
What's the height of your model in cm or inches?
What's your name, address, country, age, gender?
Where do you think it would be nice to place you sculpture?
More...?

At the same moment you send this e-mail you have become a sculptor.
Hi sculptor...I mean you!!!

And
If you enjoy working at your computer and if your computer is a sophisticated game computer, you might  use
LEGO Digital Designer, which allows you to create 3D LEGO models. You can make a virtual version of a real model,  and then you can take a digital snapshot of your creation in .jepg and send it to the above e-mail address.  Or you can exhibit it yourself.
You can download LEGO Digital Designer here. 

I don't like PRIZES - but here they are
   
    

Everybody who sends an e-mail to sculpture@mail.dk ought to have a prize.
But.
As it is custom to give prizes to a winner, here they are.
The owner of LEGO was Gottfred Kirk Christiansen.
His wife, Edith Kirk Christiansen once visited Lille Fejringhus Galley.
She saw the two silk-screen prints, 80 x 80 cm, numbered and signed, edition 125 shown above.
And she burst out spontaneously: My goodness, that's LEGO colors.
Sure, she was right. I had never before thought about, that I consequently use bright colors
like LEGO.
I made my first LEGO sculpture at an age of 3.
Subconscious I might have picked the LEGO colors, when I want to communicate happy feelings.
Another proof of LEGO's psychological power of penetration?

I'll send these two silk-screen prints, 80 x 80 cm, numbered and signed, edition 125 to the winner.
But.
Maybe they a mostly for grown ups?

  
Therefore I'll send 4 signed CIRCUS motifs  42 x 30 cm, edition 300, too. Still in LEGO colors!!
The Clown, the Banana, the Parrot and the Clown's Shoe.

I'll ask the present owner of LEGO, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the son of Edith and Gottfred Kirk Christiansen if he would pick the winner, and I'll ask him if he might have some extra goodies for the winning sculptor.
And now the very careful reader thinks I have made a misspelling. Kjeld's "K" in Kristiansen.
It's not me, who have made a misspelling, but the misspelling is made by the clergyman, who wrote his birth certificate!!

My theory

Of course children must play computer games, which are not more dangerous than chess.
Of course children must have a cell phone, they have to communicate according to the trends of today.
Of course children must have all the fancy toys.

My theory is, however, that  any caring parent and any caring grandparent must give their children and grandchildren a christening gift consisting of a considerable number of LEGO bricks in different colors.

Not denying them a healthy psychological growth.
Not denying them the joy of becoming a sculptor.

My favorite LEGO photo


 
This photo is from Singapore Airport.
We landed in Singapore. We waited
there for several hours for a delayed
flight to Bangkok.
Soon my son Jakob made friends
with a Japanese boy and a girl.
Their common language was LEGO.


Photos:
Globetrotter
Danish village, Denmark
The Nederlands
Mann's Chinese Theater, Los Angeles
Bergen, Norway
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
Elephant
Ferrari
Düsseldorf, Germany
The Rhine, Germany
Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota, USA
Mule, Western USA
The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, New York
Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, Denmark
Abu Simbel, Egypt
Japanese Portal
Scottish Castle
Arabic Castle
Singapore Airport
by Asbjorn Lonvig
Fredensborg Castle, Denmark
Giraffe
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen
by LEGO
  COPYRIGHT ASBJORN LONVIGsee Asbjorn Lonvig'sCopyright - Business Concept - Disclaimer Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig
Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig
Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig
Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig
Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig
Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig
Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig
Art News Artblog: Hi sculptor...I mean you!!! by Asbjorn Lonvig

2006 - a happy new year...

Good morning - it's 1 January 2006.
Yesterday I performed all  traditional Danish rituals in order to enter 2006 in a happy way.
In order to make 2006 a Happy New Year.
A splendid seafood dinner, serpentines, table bombs, funny hats, lots of rockets etc.
Except one traditional Danish ritual.
I was not drunk.
No beer. No vine. No drinks. No champagne. Lots of mineral water.
My entrance to 2006 was vertical. Not horizontal as it often was.
I have no hangovers.
I have cleaned up my domestic domaine and I am ready to write.

I have decided that 2006 is a happy new year...
A wise man - a philosopher from Copenhagen - said at the end of 2005:
Don't put your life into an account. Live your life now - passionately.
Don't commit yourself to any New Year Resolutions.
Don't exercise.
Don't loose weight.
Don't quit smoking.
Don't...
Don't put your life into an account. Live your life now - passionately.

The wise man of course said this with a smile.
But I sure see his point.

Here is how I'll try to live my artist life - now - passionately.

- Weekly domestic art initiatives.
- The World Wide Days project.
- The revival of the poster project.
- The Auctions project.
- Monthly interactive lecture in Lille Fejringhus Gallery.
- Monthly article to online and printed Art Magazines.
- Fairy Tales
- The book Museums of the world.
- Education, education and education.

Weekly domestic art initiatives.
Is about continuously being in touch with the domestic market.
By personally presenting new art works to potential buyers.
It's about earning a living.

World Wide Days.
Is about continue building a network of online galleries worldwide.
It's about optimizing existing exhibitions.
It's about adding new art works to the exhibitions.
It's about monitoring new exhibition possibilities.

Revival of the poster.
It's about marketing the print on demand of my art works.
Print on demand ordered online at my print partners in Salt Lake City, UT and Raleigh, NC.
Print on demand - prints on paper or canvas - ordered at Asbjorn Lonvig Digital Art Laboratory.

Auctions
Is about auctioning art works on ebay.com, kunstverket.se and other auctions.
It's about maintaining skills about how to do it.
It's about optimising use of online auctions.

Monthly interactive lecture in Lille Fejringhus Gallery.
Is about deciding myself where and when to do interactive lectures.
Lille Fejringhus Gallery is the perfect place.
An interactive lecture is mentally exhausting, so only once a month would be nice.

Monthly article to online and printed Art Magazines.

Is about being on the move, about telling the stories, that an artist must tell.
It is about a kind of relaxation.
A visual artist relaxes when he expresses himself literally.

"Exposure..." - A never ending visit to the dentist.

quietness.
This is the artist's dilemma.
You need exposure but you hate it.
You need to earn a living but you disgust the exposure of yourself.
But.
If you want to be in contact with "the real world" you must give up some of your
needs for living and working anonymously, in peace and in quietness.

The world's children become sculptors. See the article "Hi sculptor...I mean you!!!

Every single child in the world is encouraged to build a sculpture and send a digital photo of it to "Children's LEGO sculptures" - a brand new Art Gallery made for this purpose.
This project focuses on the magic psychological powers of the tiny LEGO brick to the benefit of the world's children.

Christmas Mood.

Nuuk in Greenland. You might know his huge red mailbox in Nuuk.
He wrote back to me: Ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho,ho.
My son lives in Nuuk close to Santa's workshop, he e-mailed to me in November 2004, that Santa was still laughing.

1st wish was to have more than 250,000 views on my web site on one single day.
2nd wish was to have more than 1,000,000 views on my web site in one single week.
On 1st December I got mail.
E-mail from my son in Nuuk. Santa had stopped laughing.
See why.

Santa Claus had stopped laughing and had started smiling.
He wrote to me: "Now that you have that many visitors, would you please help me delivering Christmas Gifts -
I am so awful busy in the month of December".
"Sure, Santa" I wrote back to him.]]>

Article: "Playhouse inspired by Gaudi..."

In my family you do not buy a playhouse.
You design it and you build it yourself.
This one is for Morten's daughters, Lucca and Laura.
Originally our plans were a playhouse with 6 walls - a hexagon.
And a tower, from which you have a wide view.
A gazebo.
Morten and I were a little relieved when some strong female influence made the plans less ambitious:

A four sided house with a chimney.

Morten and I decided, that the playhouse design should be based on the fantastic Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi's characteristically warped form - see about Gaudi below.
We have seen his work in Barcelona.
And.
Newly we had seen playhouses in Legoland,
see the article "Hi sculptor...I mean you!!!" for more about Legoland.

Lucca has decided the color scheme.
Yellow walls.
Red windows and door.
Green roof.
Her mother has decided the overall design criteria: No spiders.

Action
I collected all the plates I had in stock in and around Lille Fejringhus and went to Hinnerup in Denmark, where Morten and his family live.

Hello, granddad.
Would you like some coffee?
Yes.
And we started drawing.
Four pressure-creosoted posts in the corners.
Tilting walls.

A floor that is elevated from the ground. Remember, no spiders.
Spade.
2 hammers
4 kinds of saws.
And many more tools.

Blood.
Sweat.
And very few tears.
Some days later the house was ready to paint.




The shape of the windows are organic.
The windows are red.




There is a shop in the playhouse.
There is a counter in one window.
You can buy a cup of excellent coffee,
candy and much more.
And take a look at the small house
on a post to the left of
the playhouse.




It's a birdhouse.
Built by Morten's baby brother Jakob.
There is a triangular hole in the birdhouse.
A circular hole would have been
a non-Gaudi hole.
There is a perch with a bulb at the end.
That's sure a Gaudi-bulp and a Gaudi-perch.




And a chimney. No, no, no, no,
a small fat chimney.
A Gaudi-chimney.
Morten knows Gaudi better
than I do.
There is a huge metallic sculpture by the
motoway, just at the entrance to the city,
where I live.
Lucca calls this sculpture grandad's chimney.
After having struggled with building the
Gaudi-chimny, grandad's chimney has got a new meaning.

The roof has the characteristically warped shape.




And the window in the gable
has a an exact Gaudi shape.
A shape Morten found in a book on
some of Gaudi's architecture.




The house is number "5".
Lucca has painted this number herself.
Morten had a long discussion with Lucca
about where the number should be placed.
I agreed with Morten that it ought to be
placed on a post at the entrance to the
playhouse.
But Lucca insisted: On the gable
to the left of the door.




The door is a red ghost
with two eyes.
When your walls are tilted
and the door must be a Gaudi-door........

Many have asked Morten and I if we consider
to enter the business of designing, building and selling playhouses?
Of course not.
And.
Of course.....




Thoughts
How could Barcelona accept Gaudi's architecture and his characteristically warped form?
How could anyone?
Was his style les controversial in those days - Gothic Revival?

If Morten and I entered the "playhouse business" - it might be fun to let one particular great master's style be the point of departure, be the inspiration.
Why not build a Picasso-playhouse?
A Miro-playhouse?
A Matisse-playhouse?

Do you know the Austrian painter Hunderdwasser?
A Hundredwasser-playhous would be great fun.

And a Salvador Dali-playhouse?




__________________

*) Antoni Gaudi
Was born in Reus in Spain 1852.
The son of a coppersmith.
Antoni Gaudi was born in Reus, Spain in 1852.
Reus is not very far from Barcelona. In Barcelona you find his major art works.
He studied at the "Escola Superior d'Arquitectura" in Barcelona and designed his first major work for the Casa Vincens in Barcelona using a Gothic Revival style that he never left. Over the course of his career, Gaudi developed a sensuous, curving, almost surreal design style which established him as the innovative leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau movement. With little regard for formal order, he juxtaposed unrelated systems and altered established visual order. Gaudi's characteristically warped form of Gothic architecture drew admiration from other avant-garde artists.&


Photos: By Asbjorn Lonvig
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Celebrating Hans Christian Andersen's bicentennial in 2005 - All his fairy tales in English for you!!!!

To celebrate Hans Christian Andersen's bicentennial in 2005,
the Hans Christian Andersen Center at University of Southern Denmark at Institute of Literature, Media and Cultural Studies
has helped me to guide you to
All Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales in English
by Jean Hersholt:
The Complete Andersen is a rather extensive collection of Andersen's tales and this is the most comprehensive edition of Andersen's fairy tales in
English (American) on the internet.

You have to notice, however, that Simple Simon is called Clumsy Hans
and Willie Winkie is called Ole Lukoie
in this collection.


Thanks to
Web Editor Lars Bo Jensen
University of Southern Denmark
Institute of Literature, Media and Cultural Studies
Hans Christian Andersen Center
Campusvej 55
5230 Odense
Denmark
Web: http://www.humaniora.sdu.dk/
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