Lego refuses bulk orders of legos to be used for political art
Disident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says Lego refused to sell him toy bricks for his artwork, calling it an "an act of censorship and discrimination."
Ai -- known for critiquing censorship by the Chinese government -- said he intended to use Legos for a piece destined for an Australian exhibition in December.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Ai wrote that Lego sent an email in September saying, "We are not in a position to support the exhibition ... by supplying the bulk order."
Lego spokesperson Roar Rude Trangbaek declined to comment on Ai's case, but said "we refrain -- on a global level -- from actively engaging in or endorsing the use of Lego bricks in projects or contexts of a political agenda."
Trangbaek added that the company denies "donations or support for projects -- such as the possibility of purchasing Lego bricks in very large quantities, which is not possible through normal sales channels -- where we are made aware that there is a political context."
Ai claimed that Lego acted with its own political motivations. He pointed to plans to build a Legoland in Shanghai announced last week.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/25/news/ai-weiwei-lego/index.html?iid=ob_homepage_NewsAndBuzz_pool&iid=obnetwork