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One thing I love most about Cheekwood is how they showcase art, not just in the mansion with galleries of paintings, but with new sculptures throughout the garden every year. Last year, Chihuly was at Cheekwood, and this year Sean Kenney’s Nature POP! sculptures made with LEGO Bricks are brightening up the gardens at Cheekwood. In addition, local artist Herb Williams has created art around trees and structures with Crayola crayons.
I love how there was a concerted effort to include these Lego sculptures in places in the garden where you might see them naturally. For example, the woodpecker seen below (my personal favorite out of all the sculptures) was placed in a heavily wooded area of the garden where you might actually see a real woodpecker.
The deer were placed in a grass clearing where you would typically see deer.
The dragonfly was in the rain garden which would have more water than it does currently after a good rain. It’s been a dry May so far, however. Dragonflies are predatory insects that hang out near freshwater bodies of water and eat insects flying around in the air. I love how complex the textures created by the Legos are on the body and the wings.
The Lego rabbits are seen throughout the Bradford Robertson Color Garden just like normal rabbits – snacking on the young annuals that you just planted. Not that I have personal experience with that or anything…😑
The lion isn’t exactly in the Serengeti, but the red of the lion makes a nice contrast with the complementary green color surrounding it.
The monochromatic sculptures were just as amazing as the colorful ones, and I love how they look like pixelated images. Reminds me of the early days of video games. I could stare at that Lego dog for hours. This girl perfectly encapsulates the joy and wonder at seeing these Lego sculptures throughout the garden.
Sean Kenney even included an extinct animal in his Lego sculpture collection – the dodo bird. After visiting the dodo’s native habitat of Mauritius, Sean Kenney was struck by “how quickly humans could destroy an entire species.” Part of the exhibition includes signs with information about how many Lego bricks each sculpture took, how many hours to construct, fun facts, scientific information and or artistic information related to each piece. Sean Kenney used this opportunity with the dodo bird to not just create colorful, captivating art, but to also inform children and adults alike about extinction and destruction of animal habitats.
The Polar Bear sculpture used 112,450 bricks and took 389 hours to build, and he said that the layers of blue are meant to emulate the layers of ice of glaciers and also symbolizes the loss of polar bears’ habitat due to melting glaciers. I love that Sean Kenney uses his platform to educate about science, and how humans affect animals’ habitats.
This rose might be my second favorite piece because it looks beautiful but also like it might be one of the more challenging ones to construct. All the animals look pretty solid, but the rose petals don’t seem as thick, and I wonder if it took some trial and error to get this to remain whole. I also wonder if that is why they chose to put this piece inside the visitor’s center near the membership desk with employees that could keep an eye on it. There is a rose garden outside that this would work well with, but this rose might not withstand the elements (and potential prying children) as easily as the other pieces.
Also with a few pieces at Cheekwood is Nashville local artist Herb Williams. When I saw this first piece, I wasn’t sure if it was another art piece, or if it was something similar to the yarn bombing that was popular a few years ago.
But then I saw Cheekwood’s Instagram stories, and it showed him installing the two pictured below. I like art that is colorful and uses mediums that I haven’t seen used before.
He even allowed kids to help him place the crayons. They were having such a good time helping him! I love the fun aspect of this art and getting kids involved in the process makes it even better.
Not that nature needs much help being beautiful, but I love how all these pieces enhance the natural beauty already present at Cheekwood and add an extra dose of excitement in the process. I appreciate all that Cheekwood does to keep things fresh and interesting with the art they bring and the programs they have. Make sure to visit Cheekwood so you can see Sean Kenney’s Nature POP!
