Ai Weiwei Lego art replica sparks legal-free use debate
A civil rights lawyer and law professor recreated an Ai Weiwei Lego piece to challenge the absurd art market price. The original 30×30 inch Lego artwork was priced at 250,000 euros. The lawyer called the gallery assistant’s reaction “haughty” and dismissed the value, noting the piece is literally made of Lego bricks.
The replica cost under $250, was built over weeks with more than 9,200 Lego pieces, glued for durability, and framed. Replicating the art was a deliberate move to invoke fair use protections by making a commentary on art valuation and copyright law. 
Fair use experts and legal academics back the stance. Rebecca Tushnet of Harvard Law said copying is “an act safeguarding free expression.” NYU’s Michael Weinberg emphasized the replica is identical except for the artist’s identity, so it doesn’t harm market incentives.
The copy highlights how value in art often rests on authenticity and provenance, not just physical components.
Ai Weiwei himself weighed in via email:
"All copying and imitation are neither beneficial nor harmful; they are simply one person’s response to another."
"If an imitation does not add new meaning — whether by challenging or advancing the original concept of the artwork — then such imitation is, in effect, no imitation at all."
The replication highlights wider cultural shifts. A surge in fashion knockoffs and accessible art copies questions how much consumers care about originals.
"Authenticity isn’t just at the heart of art world valuation; it’s become increasingly inescapable in much of the consumer goods landscape."
This Lego art replica tests limits of copying rights, fair use, and the inflated modern art market.
Albert Fox Cahn is founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) and the story’s author.
