While the creative community of Sarasota is worried about the definition of public art, an 8ft. tall giant, smiling Lego man with a tall yellow head and green torso and red pants washed up on Siesta Beach Tuesday, Oct. 25.
While speculations have come from every direction as to the origin of the model and what this may mean, Sarasota Visual Art confirms that it is the mysterious alter ego of an anonymous guerilla artist and Dutch painter– though Ego himself has been know to appear in unexpected places.
Ego Leonard’s artistic work is often about political and social commentary. His works have appeared in numerous exhibitions in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, and now Sarasota Florida. As Leonard arrives, he presents himself as a giant legoman coming out of the virtual world. Leonard states on his site, “My name is Ego Leonard and according to you I come from the virtual world. A world that for me represents happiness, solidarity, all green and blossoming, with no rules or limitations. Lately however, my world has been flooded with fortune-hunters and people drunk with power. And many new encounters in the virtual world have triggered my curiosity about your way of life. I am here to discover and learn about your world and thoughts. Show me all the beautiful things that are there to admire and experience in your world. Let’s become friends, share your story with me, take me with you on a journey through beautiful meadows, words, sounds and gestures.”
For more information about Ego Leonard, visit Leonard’s website at http://www.egoleonard.nl/ego_gb.html
Or his gallery at http://www.st-artgallery.nl/index.html