Making Great Waves in 2023

It’s New Year’s Day where I am currently sitting*. The sun is shining. It is around 30º C (86ºF to those in other parts of the world). Last year was a hectic year: we had been locked down for large parts of 2020 and 2021, and it felt like half of society was trying to make up the missed time socialising and getting work done, while the other half was trying to keep out of harm’s way. [*I might have taken an extra day to edit this]

Ultimately, it is time to kick my feet up and relax. As good fortune would have it, The lovely people at the LEGO Group have sent me a copy of the latest LEGO Art Set: Hokusai The Great Wave. Based on Hokusai’s woodcut ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa,’ the set promised me “the chance to immerse [myself] into the relaxing project of recreating the iconic Great Wave, captured in a LEGO Art set. This set offers so many ways that fans can unwind and find their flow. Not just immersing themselves into the building process, but also getting into the artwork and how that is composed.”

So, did it deliver? Running from Christmas to New Year’s Eve is often a mental challenge: so many last-minute things to do. If there was one thing I needed, it was a chance to relax.

And More importantly, will I feel happy to nail it to the wall afterwards?

Let’s take a look at the set:

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LEGO® CON Reveals… 31207 LEGO ART Floral Art

Revealed today at LEGO® CON, the LEGO Group’s Live Streamed Showcase, we got our first look at the new 31207 LEGO Floral Art Set.

With 2870 pieces, the set will be released on August 1st. It will have a RRP of 69.99 EUR/ 79.99 USD/ 119.99 AUD/59.99 GBP/99.99 CAD

Compared to previous LEGO ART sets, this image measures 32 x 48 studs. This smaller footprint makes this the least expensive LEGO Art set to date.

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I may not know ART but I know what I like: 21333 LEGO® IDEAS The Starry Night Revealed

The Latest LEGO® Ideas set – The Starry Night, based on LEGO Truman’s submission to LEGO Ideas has been unveiled, and will be available by the end of the month.The set has 2,316 pieces and measures 38 cm wide x 28cm high x 21 cm deep. It will be priced at £149.99 / €169.99 / $169.99 USD / 259.99 AUD / 219.99 CAD when it goes on sale at LEGO Branded retail channels, as well as the Museum of Modern Art gift shop, on May 25th.

In 1889, while staying at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy, Southern France, Vincent Van Gogh created the Starry Night. The landscape was based, in part on the view he had from the room where he was staying, although, as is the nature of impressionism, perhaps some things are not exactly as they appeared. But without a doubt, with his swirling use of colours – in the foothills, the foreboding cypress tree and the sky itself, Van Gogh created one of his most enduring pieces of art. The original is now on display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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Travel put firmly back on the map with huge new LEGO® Art Set [Announcing 31203: World Map]

Travel has been off the books for the better part of a year now (maybe more, depending on where you are going to and from), but the latest LEGO Art release will help you keep an eye on where you might want to be going!

While you might not be able to get on a plane to travel, your LEGO can take you there.

The LEGO® Art World Map (31203) has 11695 elements – the highest part-count of any LEGO set to date. It will be available from LEGO.com, and LEGO Stores globally from 1st June 2021, priced from [EUR 249.99/ $USD249.99/£229.99/ $AUD399.99/ 349.99 CAD] and will become available from other retailers globally from 1st August 2021.

With the high part count, and I presume a 5×8 grid of 16×16 backing plates (that’s over 10200 pixels), this set will take some time to put together. You might need something to help take you through it, and there is an extensive soundtrack to accompany the build, bringing you tales of travellers and adventurers from around the world.

The opportunities for customising this set are a little less varied than for the first wave of LEGO Art Sets – the prescribed builds include 3 versions, with different continents in the centre of the map.

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Transeo Marilynosa![ Rebuilding the 31201 LEGO® Art Hogwarts Crests as Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe]

A couple of months ago, I put together the 31201 LEGO Art Harry Potter Hogwarts Crests (HPHC) mosaic, and I felt a little underwhelmed. But I think this was more a ‘me thing’ rather than an issue with the set: I personally didn’t feel a strong affinity with the source material, not really identifying with any particular Hogwarts House. I have heard from plenty of people who really enjoy the build, and want to build the set of crests, as well as the larger combination crest. So, as I said, it’s a Me thing. Perhaps I should have looked at a crest other than Hufflepuff’s?

That said, one positive point that I do appreciate is a large number of left over parts.

Of course, one of the stated goals for the LEGO ART range is not just to produce a mosaic which you could hang on your wall, but to also give adults an activity to focus on. You don’t need to hang your final result. you can dismantle it, and rebuild it as one of the other options, or even rebuild it as another image.

Despite personally feeling a little deflated by the HPHC building experience, I find the idea of building a LEGO Mosaic/Art set appealing. If you have followed my posts around the time of the range being announced, you will have seen my analysis of the value for money building the LEGO Art Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe, either through the set or purchasing the individual elements (Spoiler – they sets are good value for the elements you receive).

I’ll have to admit, the notion of a mass marketed LEGO Set based on the mass produced screen print of Marilyn Monroe amuses me as a further extension of the pop-art movement. So, I thought I would set out to investigate whether I could rebuild the Hogwarts Crest as Marilyn. Therefore using a mass produced LEGO Artwork to produce a different mass produced artwork. Now, along with virtually all Building instructions, you can download them from the LEGO customer support website, OR you can access them from Building Instructions App.

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But is it Art? [31201 LEGO Art Harry Potter Hogwarts Crests Review]

The LEGO Art range was unveiled earlier this year with a range of varied works to go on the wall: Andy Warhol’s Marilyn, The Beatles, Iron Man, and your choice of Sith Lords. We have recently seen the latest sets in the range unveiled: Disney Mickey and/or Minnie and Hogwarts Crests. The LEGO group sent me a copy of the hogwarts crests to look at. Given the fact that I was yet to tackle any sets in this series, I was curious for the experience.

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31201 LEGO® ART Harry Potter™ Hogwarts™ Crests Officially Revealed

The LEGO Group and Warner Bros have just revealed the next in the LEGO Art range to be released: 31201 Hogwarts Crests. With 4249 elements, and priced at 119.99 EUR – 199.99 AUD – 1099 DKK – 114.99 GBP – 119.99 USD – 149.99 CAD, this set allows you to build any one of the crests of the houses at Hogwarts. If you have four copies,you can combine them to make a 96 stud square mosaic, incorporating the crest of the school itself. We will have our full review later in the week…at the moment its just caught up in customs.

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LEGO® Art by Australian Artists and Designers Showcased at Brisbane’s Powerhouse until August 27

I have written a couple of articles regarding the new LEGO Art theme recently. Today, the LEGO Group announced a collaboration with several of Australia’s Street Artists, including Sofles (Russell Fenn), who created a contemporary take on Andy Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe Sofles has incorporated LEGO mosaic techniques into his four-meter tall spraypainted mural. The works go on display at the Powerhouse Museum in Brisbane today, until August 27. See the mural get put together after the break.

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What’s Marilyn Worth? A quick analysis of LEGO® Art, and alternatives.

Please note: all prices referred to in this article are AUSTRALIAN dollars. Shipping is not taken into account.Prices quoted were accessed on July 4-5 2020, and were only accessed from sites that could supply the full number of elements in a given colour. Individual results might vary. Now read on…

In the last few days, since the announcement of the LEGO® Art Series, one of the most common issues raised in a number of LEGO discussion groups has been the price of each mosaic.

So: a quick recap: There are 4 ‘sets’ in the series, and each set has the option to build several different images: The 31197 Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe, and 31198 The Beatles make 4 versions, while Iron Man and Sith have 3 different images, and a super image – requiring 3 of the sets to build. They are built on 16×16 ‘plates on bricks’ (a new element) – and coloured in with either 1×1 round plates or tiles. The finished mosaics an elegant frame, and comes with a QR code, to give you a ‘soundtrack to listen to while you build. These sets are aimed squarely at adults, who are probably not regular LEGO shoppers.

At $AUD200 each, the price feels higher than I want to pay. Especially if I want to complete the ‘set’ and build all four of the Warhol Marilyn’s (or the Beatles; or 6 copies to build the set of Iron Man or Sith mosaics). The truth is, if you want to channel your recreational income towards LEGO, to build your own creations with, you may not wish to divert $200-$1200 to have on the walls.

So, while I will acknowledge that the LEGO Art Mosaics are expensive, there are two questions that I still find myself asking:

  • Do they offer reasonable value for money? and
  • Could I get a similar same result, with less expenditure?
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LEGO® Art Series Revealed. Available August 1. $199.99 AUD/NZD

This year has seen a collection of ever expanding opportunities for adults to get engaged with LEGO: Be it super cars, trains, fairground attractions, football grounds, Disney characters, there has been something for everyone. the styles and building techniques have all been quite different and challenging.

And today, LEGO Announces its latest releases for adults: LEGO Art. This series of mosaics, put together over a series of interlinking bases covers a variety of material – both traditional LEGO licences, as well as a new one.

These sets are priced at $199.99 AUD/NZD -US $119.99 –CA $149.99 –DE €119.99 –UK £114.99 – FR €119.99 – DK 1099DKK. There are four different ‘sets’ available, and each allows you to make one of several different images. Each set comes with an associated ‘Playlist/Soundtrack’ for you to listen to while you complete the build. Each mosaic measures 40cm (48 studs) square.

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