LEGOS: a love story

Legos are the perfect symbol of the shift to a culture of consumption that we have found ourselves in. Instead of the beloved rectangle and square, and single brick shapes (in a total of 5 colors), we now have specialty sets for the kids to build. That is great for following directions, and the end product does look beautiful. But the Star Wars X-Wing fighter used to be creatively represented by making due with what we had, envisioning the shape, and executing that thought on the Lego table. And then adjusting the shape from there.

In my studio, which I share with my children, there are thousands of Lego pieces. Some of which are assembled cars, boats, houses that reside on shevles, never to be played with again. Once again, it really does look neat having the Batmobile and a Jeep sitting on the shelf.

But I am most proud of the multicolored tower that my son and daughter worked together on that sits on the Lego table. This one came from their minds. Granted, it is orthogonal and nothing architecturally crazy, but the thought that they put into it is incredible. The details inside include parts from various sets, some of which make perfect sense, and some of it is a bit of a stretch. But that is the entire point. And they tinker and play and add and subtract from the basic set. It is more organic than the endorsed sets. In the end, what are we teaching our kids? To follow directions or to make their own rules? That is not such a black and white answer, but I tend to think that seeing what new minds can create is the better path.