Leggo My Madonna! ...

There are those for whom Madonna’s birthday is always cause for celebration, but today the Material Girl turns the big 6-0. Fans all over the world are paying tribute, but one has honored her with a special gift: Artist Sam Hatmaker handcrafted a one-of-a-kind set of Madonna Lego Minifigures dedicated to the Queen of Pop.

“Legos, like Madonna, have been a big part of my life since I was a child,” Hatmaker says. “I thought since Madonna was turning 60 and the Minifigure, which was introduced in 1978, is turning 40, I should do something special for both of them.”

Appropriately, the first Madonna Lego Minifigure he designed was the pop star circa 1978, when she was art modeling in New York.

All the Madonna Lego incarnations were made from official Lego pieces, including accessories and fabric (except for the bow on the “Material Girl” Minifig). The “Rain” figure even incorporates the original 1978 Minifigure legs, which don’t move.

Hatmaker painted any pieces that were not available in the correct colors, and designed stickers for the various chest decorations. “The MTV ‘Vogue’ figure took the most painting since the skirt piece is only available in red,” he says. “But her boa from the Oscar performance of ‘Sooner or Later’ was the hardest part to be satisfied with. Making something that small that looks soft using just Lego parts was not easy.”

 

There are 20 Madonna Lego Minifigures in the Queen of Pop’s birthday collection, including iconic representations from “Like a Prayer,” “Erotica,” “Like a Virgin,” “Bedtime Stories” and even a kimono-clad Madonna from “Nothing Really Matters,” but Sam says he could easily think of 20 more to do.

 

This is hardly Hatmaker’s first foray into Lego art. A Golden Girls Lego set he created became a viral sensation.

He’s currently working on a series of celebrity portraits using colored Lego blocks as tile, each portrait containing between 2,000 and 4,500 tiles.

In all the Madonna Lego Minifigures project took more than 40 hours to design, paint, package and photograph, and they’re all for sale on his website, SamuelHatmaker.com. But what would the diva herself think of the Madonna Lego set?
“I think she would be flattered and recognize how much respect I have for her,” Hatmaker says. “Madonna changed the world — and my life — in many ways. She pushed buttons and tried to open people’s minds, always with her tongue planted firmly in her cheek. She continues to make art, and push for us to love ourselves and others, and tries to make the world a better place.”

I couldn’t have said it better. Happy birthday, Madonna!

 

 Artist Sam Hatmaker

Be sure to check out the other participants' offerings on today's Beverly's Pink Saturday!

Now, go make something beautiful!

 ´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´? Tristan

 Before Hatmaker's Madonna series, he created the Cher in Logos Trio!