Zeitgeist is German for “the spirit of the times.” I took German in school, but it didn’t prepare me for the passionate spirit and great minds of our times that were collectively present at Google Zeitgeist 2011 this week. The conference included so many marquee names that I could never list them all, but I also will never forget that I shared my personal journey and the stage that day with Cory Booker, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Sir Richard Branson, Neil Turok, Scooter Braun and Tony Hawk. Other speakers included Arianna Huffington, Ted Koppel, Eike Batista, Chelsea Clinton, Celine & Fabien Cousteau, Deepak Chopra and Mark Cuban. It was humbling to be ask to present and I was honored to speak along side them. As requested – I told my story, focused on the transition from lawyer to artist, and highlighted how “The Art of the Brick” exhibitions are opening up the art world to children around the world through a familiar medium. I discovered more in three days in Scottsdale than I did in German class, and now I truly understand the meaning of Zeitgeist. (Many of these amazing talks can be viewed on Youtube, enjoy. )
Here is a little video showing some of the behind the scenes action during the creation of the lions for the NYPL. Yes, that is glue that I am using. I wanted to make sure the LEGO lions stayed together permanently while on display. The original marble lions have been around for 100 years. I figure my plastic versions will be around for thousands of years. Go plastic!
I can finally reveal my latest project: The Flaming C! Conan O’Brien’s comic superhero has been living in my art studio for the past few weeks, but now he has made his way to San Diego Comic-Con.
Along with other fine art of the Flaming C from around the world, the brick version is prominently featured in the front window at Conan’s COCO MoCA Flaming C Art Gallery in San Diego.
I always knew I was different, some might even say unusual. Well it’s now official. Last Saturday night I was awarded the “Most Creative Unusual Artist” by the Society of Unique Artists in New York. I attended the event with my long-time girlfriend, Courtney, who is not really very unusual, except for the fact that she chooses to hang out with me. Which may or may not be unusual. I was up against some very qualified and talented fellow artists including Calvin Nicholls for his paper art, Huang Taisheng for his leaf art carving and Robert Lang for his origami art. It was an honor to win and I am grateful that the Society is promoting the field of choosing unusual media and non-traditional artforms. They were held at the Jerome L. Greene Center in Soho and were hosted by television personality Danielle Guldin. Thank you to the Society for a truly unusual evening.
