 "Adam and Eve" from the original Brick Testament website | |
| Available in | English |
|---|---|
| Created by | Elbe Spurling |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | October 2001; 24 years ago (2001-10) |
| Current status | Inactive |
The Brick Bible (originally published asThe Brick Testament) is a project created by Elbe Spurling[1] in whichBible stories are illustrated using still photographs ofdioramas constructed entirely out ofLego bricks.
The project began as awebsite in October 2001 that featured six stories from theBook of Genesis, and is completely unaffiliated with the Lego company.[2] There is also aBrick Bible book series.[3]
Throughout stories are retold using passages from the Bible, with chapter and verse cited, the wording being a free adaptation that Spurling says is based on a number of public domain Bible translations.[4] Occasionally, mostly when images are being used to contrast with the underlying scripture, Spurling dramatizes the images with additional text. Such text is displayed in gray instead of the usual black.
Spurling's own commentary occasionally appears in illustrations and is displayed in gray text, and also as original titles for the stories themselves. ARolling Stone article that is included as a link in the originalBrick Testament web site suggests that Spurling is an atheist.[5] In 2015 Spurling announced on Facebook that she was an atheist, a transgender woman, and a lesbian, and had legally changed her name to Elbe Spurling but would likely retain her birth name, Brendan Powell Smith, for her books.[1] Her author page atAmazon.com is listed under "Brendan Powell Smith."[6]
The dioramas seen inThe Brick Bible are created from Spurling's personalLego collection. The pieces come from hundreds of Lego sets dating from the 1960s to the present.
In the few instances where alterations are made to Lego elements, they are generally simple changes made with a hobby knife or permanent ink marker. An example alteration is God's hair: Spurling made God's white hair by carving a white helmet piece. The only completely non-Lego part of Spurling's scenes is the background sky.[7]
All of Spurling's images are digital. Spurling photographed early scenes with aNikon Coolpix 950. She now uses aNikon Coolpix 4500. After photographing the scenes, she addsspeech balloons and sometimes makes alterations using image editing software.
The Brick Testament website[8] began in October 2001. It originally featured six stories from theBook of Genesis. The site now contains over 400 illustrated stories, from both theOld andNew Testaments, and over 4,500 images.[9][10] Each story is tagged if it contains nudity, sexual content, violence and/or cursing.[10] As of 2009[update], the website had had over two million visitors.[11]
SeveralhardcoverBrick Testament books have been published,The Brick Testament: Stories from the Book of Genesis,[12][13]The Brick Testament: The Story of Christmas,[14][15]The Brick Testament: The Ten Commandments,[16] andThe Brick Bible: A New Spin on the Old Testament.[17] The US retailerSam's Club withdrewThe Brick Bible from sale in November 2011, "due to the complaints of a handful of people that it is vulgar and violent".[18]
In a Facebook post made on April 3, 2015, Spurling announced a new project entitled the BrickBook of Mormon. The stated goal of the project is "to make these teachings better known to the world. It is designed to capture the interest of non-Mormons curious to know what the LDS Church teaches, as well as believing Mormons looking for a fun new way to learn and share the history and teachings of their church."[19] The project was officially launched on February 6, 2017.[20]
