A pioneer of direct-animation, Len Lye (1901-1980) was also a highly innovative painter, photographer and poet, as well as an important figure in kinetic sculpture. In 1938, Time magazine proclaimed filmmaker, sculptor and writer Len Lye to be the English Walt Disney. History had other plans - despite being a huge influence on the animators of Disney's Fantasia (1940), Lye (originally from New Zealand) remained an experimental and seminal abstract artist/filmmaker.
This exhibition shows 3 of Lye's filmsColour Box (1935) Rainbow Dance (1936) and Trade Tattoo (1937). These films illustrate Lye's pioneering vision in abstract filmaking; the films were commissioned by the GPO (General Post Office) to be screened as adverts in cinemas.
To counterpoint Lye's work we feature the work contemporary artists/designers Airside, Mario Cavalli, Takafumi Tsuchiya and Universal Everything whose work shares Lye's pioneering vision but utilises the latest computer software.
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Images (top): Len Lye, Rainbow Dance.1936
(bottom left): Mario Cavalli, Long Build Loop. 2009
(middle): Universal Everything, Nokia E71/Art Film. 2009
(right): Airside, Nice Weather for Ducks. 2006
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