Home > Virtual Museum > CHGS Exhibitions > Absence/Presence > Absence/Presence Artists : Zbigniew Libera Zbigniew Libera was born in 1959, Pabianice, Poland, He began his artistic career in the 1980’s by printing leaflets and posters protesting against the introduction of martial law. He also printed leaflets for the Solidarity movement. In the autum of 1982 he was arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison for printing and distributing anti-state publications. Libera is one of the most provocative Polish artists currently working. His other works include ironic and sometimes darkly humorous deconstructions of children's toys and mass-produced consumer goods. He became well known for the Lego Concentration Camp (1996), which was exhibited as part of Absence/Presence, creating much controversy. All of the building blocks used were readily available and used from actual LEGO products. LEGO actually created the boxes for Libera. Once it was discovered what he was doing, LEGO insisted that they did not endorse the work and at one point tried to sue him, but dropped the suit.
Zbigniew Libera's Lego Concentration Camp: Iconoclasm in Conceptual Art About the Shoah by Stephen C. Feinstein. Other Voices, February 2000. My ability to work with objects is taken from everyday urban contemporary life. In my study of the development of correctional devices and educational toys, I see such devices reveal more about a society and its mechanisms for creating and enforcing its norms than any study of society could. LEGO, a construction made partially from various Lego kits, takes us into a village with a mental hospital, Stalin's prison, World War II and Bosnian concentration camps. Thus, I fell I mix historical with contemporary references to represent our world, our little inferno, as built and sanctified by norms. Eroica, is a four-boxed set of toy soldier-sized women figures. They are based on classical models. They are a reminder that in the 1990s no toy soldier set is complete without the inclusion of women, who have become the special targets of victimization in genocidal settings such as Bosnia, where rape camps have been well documented.
Such is the fashion of "heroic" actions of armies in genocidal and even less violent encounters where women are victims. During an academic conference in Brussels in December, 1997, an agitated audience, who felt that the Lego Concentration Camp was a real toy which was available for sale, demanded that I comment about why I constructed it. My response then, as it is now, was: "I am from Poland. 7 box LEGO set, edition of 3. Original art work made with LEGO (c) bricks from the LEGO CORPORATION of Copenhagen. The LEGO Corporation does not endorse this art work and has not subsidized its production. Permission of the artist. Galleri Wang, Oslo, Norway, and Paulina Kolczynska Fine Arts, New York. Four box set of 25 nude figures. View rank on IMDbPro Alexander Dunlop was born on October 27, 1971 in Winchester, England. He is a director and producer, known for Animal Cops: Detroit (2002), Treblinka Inside Hitler's Secret Death Camp (2013) and I, Human (2012).
See full bio » 3 news articles » Treblinka Inside Hitler's Secret Death Camp Queen of Sheba: Behind the Myth Number of Ratings »Camera and Electrical Department - Escape from the Indian River - The Nastiest Battles - The Most Horrifying I Escaped: Real Prison Breaks(series director - 4 episodes) - Love & Loyalty - Gone to the Dogs - Haunted Highway/Kentucky UFO Chase Anatomy of a Takedown - The Medieval Reincarnation - The Ghosts of Glastonbury Secrets of the Dead - Escape from Auschwitz - Auschwitz: The Great Escape Mid Air Collision Over Britain Camera and Electrical Department (1 credit) Contribute to This PageAnselm Kiefer: als een feniks uit de as....Phd-student at Free University of BrusselsA 16-year-old high school student from the United Kingdom created a school project detailing the sordid history of Nazi Germany with Lego pieces, becoming an instant Internet sensation.
John Denno from Liverpool used the toy building blocks to illustrate Hitler’s rise to power, the Nuremberg laws, Kristallnacht, the Holocaust, D-Day and Germany’s capitulation, employing creative camera tricks and figurines from Star Wars and Harry Potter Lego sets. The project, which has garnered attention from around the world, was a learning experience for the 16-year-old.“From 1933, Jews slowly lost all their rights until they were being murdered in the thousands.” “My project opens a small window on how the Nazi party did what they did, and, hopefully, it sparks interest for people to find out more themselves,” Denno added. Denno’s work was praised by Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. “I think he did a good job,” Cooper told the Huffington Post. “He said he learned from the project and he presented it with respect. Of course, this was a high school project done under the supervision of a teacher. It would be different if they made this into a ‘Lego movie.'”
The teen used Lego because of his knowledge of the popular toy set, initially expressing concern, however, that he may receive a low mark for his project. “I chose Lego because that is what I’m good at,” Denno told The Huffington Post. “I can’t draw for the life of me so I thought this would be an interesting way to present the project… I’ve been building, animating and photographing Lego since I was very young.” Denno said that he hoped the project would help personalize the Holocaust and expose his generation to the history of the Third Reich. “People today are shown image after image of big black and white writing saying ‘REMEMBER’ until it becomes almost meaningless to them. They know the Holocaust happened, and that people died, but they don’t know why it happened or any of the history behind it.” “My project opens a small window on how the Nazi party did what they did, and, hopefully, it sparks interest for people to find out more themselves,” Denno said.