Zürich
When we were in Legoland, there were flyers in our hotel advertising "The Art of the Brick," an exhibit of Lego artwork by Nathan Sawaya at Zürich's Puls 5. Both Myles and Brigid really wanted to go, especially since Zürich was our next stop after Legoland. I told them I would look into it, though I couldn't make any promises. I wasn't sure where we were staying or where Puls 5 was.
When we arrived at our hotel in Zürich, I discovered that Puls 5 was just across the street from us. I had no excuses. Even after two days at Legoland, the Lego-centric part of my trip was not quite over.
More after the jump
I wasn't as enthused as the kids were to see the Nathan Sawaya exhibit, at least not initially. In contrast to their excitement, I was only mildly curious. Sure, I thought it was cool this guy made a name for himself building with Legos, but my expectations were not incredibly high. At best, I believed the work would be quirky and gimmicky. What I came to realize quickly is that Sawaya is a serious artist, and his preferred media just happens to be Lego bricks. That can sometimes lead to whimsical pieces...
...but there can also be a serious gravity to his work. Here is "Ascension," suspended from above, one spotlight hitting the torso. Even the shadow is startling.
And his iconic "Yellow." Sawaya prefers to use standard, commercial Legos (not even Technik), so his color palette and brick dimensions are limited to whatever Lego produces. These are self-imposed challenges, but they make Sawaya's work all the more compelling.
There were some sculptures he made just to do it and not necessarily to make any kind of statement. For example, this giant Swiss Watch was produced especially for the Zürich stop of this show.
With each piece the wall notes included the brick count. Myles, of course, was amazed at these figures, as some constructions were deceptively simple and others required a ridiculous number of bricks.
Sawaya's idealized human forms are very recognizable, and fit in with the long tradition in the history of sculpture, but he also showed that he can construct other body types as well, as in this "Everlasting"
While the sculptures and models garner the most attention, Sawaya also exhibited quite a number of mosaic, again, built with regular Legos.
These were portraits of his wife.
There were also a few famous artworks that he re-created in Lego. Starry Night was composed of 3,493 bricks.
Our tickets also included audio guides, available in English. At each stopping point, we could hear Sawaya's own voice discussing his work. The wall descriptions were in English and German. It was almost too easy for us to enjoy it.
I went into "The Art of the Brick" thinking I would merely tolerate it for the sake of the kids, but it was just as hard to tear myself away as it was for them.
I bought shirts for both of the kids (Myles' was a Nathan Sawaya quote "Art is not Optional"). When I checked out, the young woman at the register apologised immediately that she did not speak German, and asked me if English was okay. I admitted that was fine with me. I had to ask her if it were difficult working in Zürich and not speaking German. She said it wasn't really a problem getting by with just French and English because---Zürich. I told her that Zürich made me not work as hard to speak German as I should, but I did appreciate how welcoming the city was.
After "The Art of the Brick" we had the rest of the day to explore Zürich a little. It is funny that in all of our previous Europe trips we have travelled through Zürich every time, but we had never stayed there. This year we actually did.
Zürich was an important city in the Reformation, having been where Huldrych Zwingli lived and worked. A statue of him stands by the Wasserkirche.
Many of the Zürich churches still bear pre-Reformation names, but they are all, without a doubt, part of Zwingli's reformed tradition. Grossmünster was, at one time, the "Great Minster," reportedly first founded by Charlemagne himself above the graves of Saints Felix and Regula. The current church building was then built in 1100 over Charlemagne's church, with various reconstruction and remodeling over the years. It was here, too, that Zwingli first carried out his reforms, removing altars and statuary and the organ, and implementing his liturgical reforms.
The heavy bronze doors of the Grossmünster Kapelle are considered Otto Münch's masterpiece. The were cast in the 1930s and depict scenes from the Reformations (and Charlemagne in the lowest right corner). The inscription above is from Matthew 11:28, fitting because it was on the Gospel Matthew that Zwingli preached most effectively as he began his movement.
Inside, no photography is permitted. This church does have some very important stained glass windows. There is a triptych in the choir by Augusto Giacometti (cousin of Myles' favorite sculptor Alberto Giacometti) depicting the Magi bringing gifts to Mary and the Infant Jesus (can be seen at the church's website at position 1). It was installed in the 1930s.
Another twelve windows in the church were executed more recently by Sigmar Polke (video of the windows can be found here). Seven of these are composites of polished agate, which theologically connect to the time of creation. These windows are absolutely stunning when sunlight filters through them. I was glad that I wasn't permitted to take any pictures because my own images would have not captured them at all. I took this picture outside the church later.
The other five are referred to as "figurative" and depict scenes from the Old Testament. Of these, I was most amazed by his Elijah window; I usually like stained glass windows that have saturated pigment, but I really liked the subtle swirls in this one.
The twentieth century also saw the church gaining an organ and now hosts organ festivals and concerts. If you are a Zwingli devotee, you can debate with the parsons of the Swiss Reformed Church whether the windows and organ are contrary to his reforms.
Our next stop was across the Limmat River by way of the Münsterbrucke (Minsters bridge) to see Fraumunster. Münsterbrucke was built in 1844 by Alois Negrelli.
Once again, inside the Fraumünster, no photographs are permitted. This was, prior to the Reformation, attached to a Benedictine Convent that was founded by Charlemagne's grandson Louis for his daughter Hildegard. The big draw again for us were the beautiful stained glass windows (pictures here). There was one by Augusto Giacometti and several by Marc Chagall. I am always intrigued by Chagall's work on Christian themes (though I guess when he is depicting the prophets he is sticking closer to his Jewish roots). Chagall had such a way with color, too. Myles and Brigid bought postcards of the Chagall windows.
I only got one picture of the Fraumünster, it seems, and it was at sunset, much later in the afternoon and just before supper.
The next day, Randy had his meeting in a town that lie in between Zürich and Interlaken. I had considered the kids and I remaining in Zürich all the next day, or doing something else. Randy's train would take him to Luzern, only an hour or so away from Zürich, where he would change trains to where he needed to go for his meeting. I looked at a few pictures of Luzern online and decided that would be our next adventure. We would all take the train in the morning to Luzern, and then Randy would meet us back there when he was done before we returned together to our Zürich hotel.
I had a bit of homework to get done that night. Luzern had never really been on my radar before. It probably should have been.
When we arrived at our hotel in Zürich, I discovered that Puls 5 was just across the street from us. I had no excuses. Even after two days at Legoland, the Lego-centric part of my trip was not quite over.
More after the jump
I wasn't as enthused as the kids were to see the Nathan Sawaya exhibit, at least not initially. In contrast to their excitement, I was only mildly curious. Sure, I thought it was cool this guy made a name for himself building with Legos, but my expectations were not incredibly high. At best, I believed the work would be quirky and gimmicky. What I came to realize quickly is that Sawaya is a serious artist, and his preferred media just happens to be Lego bricks. That can sometimes lead to whimsical pieces...
...but there can also be a serious gravity to his work. Here is "Ascension," suspended from above, one spotlight hitting the torso. Even the shadow is startling.
And his iconic "Yellow." Sawaya prefers to use standard, commercial Legos (not even Technik), so his color palette and brick dimensions are limited to whatever Lego produces. These are self-imposed challenges, but they make Sawaya's work all the more compelling.
There were some sculptures he made just to do it and not necessarily to make any kind of statement. For example, this giant Swiss Watch was produced especially for the Zürich stop of this show.
With each piece the wall notes included the brick count. Myles, of course, was amazed at these figures, as some constructions were deceptively simple and others required a ridiculous number of bricks.
Sawaya's idealized human forms are very recognizable, and fit in with the long tradition in the history of sculpture, but he also showed that he can construct other body types as well, as in this "Everlasting"
While the sculptures and models garner the most attention, Sawaya also exhibited quite a number of mosaic, again, built with regular Legos.
These were portraits of his wife.
There were also a few famous artworks that he re-created in Lego. Starry Night was composed of 3,493 bricks.
Our tickets also included audio guides, available in English. At each stopping point, we could hear Sawaya's own voice discussing his work. The wall descriptions were in English and German. It was almost too easy for us to enjoy it.
I went into "The Art of the Brick" thinking I would merely tolerate it for the sake of the kids, but it was just as hard to tear myself away as it was for them.
I bought shirts for both of the kids (Myles' was a Nathan Sawaya quote "Art is not Optional"). When I checked out, the young woman at the register apologised immediately that she did not speak German, and asked me if English was okay. I admitted that was fine with me. I had to ask her if it were difficult working in Zürich and not speaking German. She said it wasn't really a problem getting by with just French and English because---Zürich. I told her that Zürich made me not work as hard to speak German as I should, but I did appreciate how welcoming the city was.
After "The Art of the Brick" we had the rest of the day to explore Zürich a little. It is funny that in all of our previous Europe trips we have travelled through Zürich every time, but we had never stayed there. This year we actually did.
Zürich was an important city in the Reformation, having been where Huldrych Zwingli lived and worked. A statue of him stands by the Wasserkirche.
Many of the Zürich churches still bear pre-Reformation names, but they are all, without a doubt, part of Zwingli's reformed tradition. Grossmünster was, at one time, the "Great Minster," reportedly first founded by Charlemagne himself above the graves of Saints Felix and Regula. The current church building was then built in 1100 over Charlemagne's church, with various reconstruction and remodeling over the years. It was here, too, that Zwingli first carried out his reforms, removing altars and statuary and the organ, and implementing his liturgical reforms.
The heavy bronze doors of the Grossmünster Kapelle are considered Otto Münch's masterpiece. The were cast in the 1930s and depict scenes from the Reformations (and Charlemagne in the lowest right corner). The inscription above is from Matthew 11:28, fitting because it was on the Gospel Matthew that Zwingli preached most effectively as he began his movement.
Inside, no photography is permitted. This church does have some very important stained glass windows. There is a triptych in the choir by Augusto Giacometti (cousin of Myles' favorite sculptor Alberto Giacometti) depicting the Magi bringing gifts to Mary and the Infant Jesus (can be seen at the church's website at position 1). It was installed in the 1930s.
Another twelve windows in the church were executed more recently by Sigmar Polke (video of the windows can be found here). Seven of these are composites of polished agate, which theologically connect to the time of creation. These windows are absolutely stunning when sunlight filters through them. I was glad that I wasn't permitted to take any pictures because my own images would have not captured them at all. I took this picture outside the church later.
The other five are referred to as "figurative" and depict scenes from the Old Testament. Of these, I was most amazed by his Elijah window; I usually like stained glass windows that have saturated pigment, but I really liked the subtle swirls in this one.
The twentieth century also saw the church gaining an organ and now hosts organ festivals and concerts. If you are a Zwingli devotee, you can debate with the parsons of the Swiss Reformed Church whether the windows and organ are contrary to his reforms.
Our next stop was across the Limmat River by way of the Münsterbrucke (Minsters bridge) to see Fraumunster. Münsterbrucke was built in 1844 by Alois Negrelli.
Once again, inside the Fraumünster, no photographs are permitted. This was, prior to the Reformation, attached to a Benedictine Convent that was founded by Charlemagne's grandson Louis for his daughter Hildegard. The big draw again for us were the beautiful stained glass windows (pictures here). There was one by Augusto Giacometti and several by Marc Chagall. I am always intrigued by Chagall's work on Christian themes (though I guess when he is depicting the prophets he is sticking closer to his Jewish roots). Chagall had such a way with color, too. Myles and Brigid bought postcards of the Chagall windows.
I only got one picture of the Fraumünster, it seems, and it was at sunset, much later in the afternoon and just before supper.
The next day, Randy had his meeting in a town that lie in between Zürich and Interlaken. I had considered the kids and I remaining in Zürich all the next day, or doing something else. Randy's train would take him to Luzern, only an hour or so away from Zürich, where he would change trains to where he needed to go for his meeting. I looked at a few pictures of Luzern online and decided that would be our next adventure. We would all take the train in the morning to Luzern, and then Randy would meet us back there when he was done before we returned together to our Zürich hotel.
I had a bit of homework to get done that night. Luzern had never really been on my radar before. It probably should have been.
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