Len Lye
Len’s birth name was Leonard Charles
Huia Lye and he was born on the 5th July 1901 in New Zealand. He was
known for his experimental films and kinetic sculptures, (kinetic is a piece of
moving art which is operated by wind, a motor or the observer). His kinetic
work was considered some of the best pieces of art of his time. Some of the
artist’s that inspired his work was the art of Māori, Australian Aboriginal,
Pacific Island and African cultures. He was also a writer and painter, one of
his writing pieces was on the theory of IHN which stands for Individual
Happiness Now. For his films he would use a range of dyes, stencils,
air-brushes, felt tip pens, stamps, combs and surgical instruments, to create
images and textures on celluloid.
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| Len Lye |
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From an early
age Lye believed that motion could be part of the language of art, which he
used to influence him on his desire of filmmaking and sculpt making. He spent his
early twenties travelling around the world especially in Australia and Samoa
which was used to inspire some of his artwork and film pieces however this
caused him to be expelled from the New Zealand colonial administration; they
claimed he was living in an indigenous community. He spent time working on a coal
trimmer and travelled all over, when he reached London he decided to live
there, this was in 1926.
Once he joined the “Seven and Five
Society”, he got his first exhibition in 1936 at the international surrealist exhibition;
from there on he began working on his passion of experimental moving
image/films. In 1929 he created his first short film, Tusalava, Which lead him to
a job offer with the GPO Film Unit(which stands for General Post Office). He
would create many advertisements for them; his first that was viewed by the
general public was “A Colour Box"
A Colour
Box
“It was
made by painting vibrant abstract patterns on the film itself, synchronizing
them to a popular dance tune by Don Baretto and His Cuban Orchestra.”
After making many pieces for the
GPO, Len was offered to work for the
March Of Time newsreel which was located in New York. From there on he
spent the majority of time working on his experimental filmmaking and creating
metal sculptures.
Before
he passed he went back home of New Zealand to present his first exhibition in
New Zealand, it was the work he produced at Govett-Brewster Art Galley. Once he
had passed in 1980 his supporters wanted to have a gallery where you could view
every piece of his work, they founded the Len Lye Foundation. There are many
places around the world which hold archive of his films, for example; New
Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York
City, and the Pacific Film Archive at University of California, Berkeley. Lye’s
sculptures are found in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art,
the Art Institute of Chicago, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Berkeley
Art Museum. Many of his kinetic works can be found at the Govett-Brewster Art
Gallery in New Plymouth, Taranaki
His
dedication and experimental pieces can be considered some of the most
influential pieces that have affected the artists of the time and even today’s
generation filmmakers.
Filmography (20 titles)
·
1966 Particles in Space (short)
·
1958 Free Radicals (short)
·
1958 Tal Farlow (short)
·
1957 Rhythm (short)
·
1952 Color Cry (short)
·
1942 Kill or Be Killed (documentary short)
·
1942 Newspaper Train (short)
·
1941 When the Pie Was Opened (short)
·
1940 Musical Poster Number One (short)
·
1940 Swinging the Lambeth Walk (short)
·
1938 N or NW (short)
·
1937 Colour Flight (short)
·
1937 Full Fathom Five (short)
·
1937 Trade Tattoo (short)
·
1936 Rainbow Dance (short)
·
1936 The Birth of the Robot (short)
(uncredited)
·
1935 A Colour Box (short)
·
1935 Kaleidoscope (short)
·
1933 Experimental Animation 1933 (short)
·
1929 Tusalava (short)
Len Lye Films I liked.
Free radicals-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyVYDseGc4
Rainbow Dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_9kk59t-tU
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