Len Lye (1901–1980)
"...(I'm) interested in the business of energy and getting a feeling of zizz."
Len Lye is recognised as one of New Zealand¹s most distinguished artists, particularly acknowledged for his experimental films and kinetic sculptures. This exhibition commemorates the centennial year of the artist¹s birth and is the first major exhibition of his work to be seen in Australia.
 Len Lye. Installation view, Queensland Art Gallery, May 2002 |
Born in Christchurch, Lye was largely a self-taught artist. He made sustained visits to Australia and the Pacific Islands (particularly Samoa) in the mid -1920s, then travelled to London in 1926, which became his base until 1944. Film-making became a speciality of the artist¹s early career and continued to be an important outlet for Lye¹s creativity up to his death. At first it was by `re-inventing¹ the advertisement and documentary film genres, enlivening them with abstract designs, bright colour and jazz music; later it was through his so-called ‘scratch films¹. Lye gained further acclaim when he moved to New York and produced his photograms in the late 1940s - enigmatic portraits of friends and associates - and particularly through his ambitious kinetic sculpture projects.
 Len Lye. Installation view Queensland Art Gallery, May 2002 |
Three aspects of Lye's career are highlighted here: a selection of his kinetic sculptures, his films and photograms. His artistic explorations were extensive and diverse (he was a painter and a theorist as well). Lye was particularly fascinated by the experiential and so attempted to capture in his work a tangible physical energy or trace, which he described as a ‘life force¹. This holistic belief in the value and opportunity of art is demonstrated in all his work. In this achievement Lye has frequently employed the human figure in motion both as a device and as a metaphor.
Len Lye has been described as an artist for the 21st century for his remarkable innovations. He was a free-spirited, unique personality, holding the attitude that life and art should be explored (and transformed) with equal zeal.
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