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Brickworkz LEGO mosaics : Headlinez : City Edition article, June 2006 Brick by BrickThe New Kid in Town Paul Spicer, City Edition
The classic red 2X4 LEGO brick - it can be found rambling alone on the floor of almost every River City abode that contains small children. And when not lodged unexpectedly under one's bare foot on the way to a soccer game, adults love 'em too. The famous plastic brick that has won the world over was created by a poor carpenter in Denmark who coined his product leg godt, meaning "play well." Perched on the third floor of Richmond's Creative Change Center, better known as C3, sits today's ambassador of all things LEGO. His name is Brian Korte, and he's not just playing. Korte is a "Brick Artist," swapping the traditional paintbrush and canvas for LEGO bricks and computer screens. Already known in Cap City for his IT consultancy, Korte, 28, recently made the move from computer whiz kid to one of only a handful of commissioned artists in the world capable of building art mosaics out of LEGO bricks. "It's creative and I get to express myself," says Korte, fingering an exceptionally small l x l brick that he places into a 13,000 plus pixilated cityscape piece that when finished will represent life in Richmond. Looking up from the incredibly detailed process, he smiles, "I like to see people's reaction to it." Owner of the newly opened Brickworkz LLC, this LEGO phenom has set up shop in C3, a leading non-profit organization for the creative and entrepreneurial lot looking for free space to hone their craft. Snagging an oversized kidney bean shaped table in the revamped warehouse space, Korte begins most days by spreading out thousands of tiny LEGO bricks and then popping open his handy laptop. Initially creating the design, which serves as a "map," using Photoshop software to zoom in on literally every single tiny brick. His brick of choice - the tiniest variety, officially known as a "plate." Smaller than the traditional brick with which most people are familiar, Korte uses a stud-not-on-top method, called "SNOT" in the brickster world, to produce striking masterpieces. The Northern Virginia transplant with a love affair for LEGO points proudly to "The Journey Man," one of his first designs, which hangs on the exposed brick walls of C3 along with eleven other creations. He figures that there are a whopping 150,000 or more combined LEGO bricks in the room, but "The Journey Man" is his favorite. Among his first to design, this soulful black and white piece was created after a romp across the country on a newly purchased motorcycle. Then Korte stops, "Oh, and I like this one too," he says, his enthusiasm infectious.
Pointing to a diamond shaped mosaic created of bright yellow and black bricks, the piece is called a "Biker's Dream," resembling a caution sign announcing a windy road ahead. "I came up with this one while I was riding - came home and did it in one night," he recalls quickly, then turns back to the thousands of tiny bricks that are converging before his fingertips to form his next commissioned piece. Chatting with Korte under the tin roof of the entrepreneur/hipster hotspot at C3, he reveals his passion for travel, for art, and for LEGOs. People drop by routinely, checking out how far along he is on the mosaic of the week and always leaving with a genuine smile produced by his unique form of artistic expression. Brick after brick, plate after plate, his creations continue to grow, seemingly riding along with his life experiences. In the world of LEGO, one can confidently say that Brian Korte has learned the meaning of leg godt - play well. --- Article originally published in the Richmond Community Weekly's City Edition July 17, 2006. |
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