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A Film Issue

Motion From Across The Ocean

Len Lye’s fascination with movement and experiments with film and celluloid were like nothing that had ever been seen before the 1900s and it’s a little known fact that he produced the first ever music video.
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Κείμενο Briony Wright

By Briony Wright

Vice: What was New Zealand like in the 20s when Len Lye started experimenting with film and art?

Roger:

So he was a bit of a creative anomaly?

A still from Rainbow Dance (1936)

That sounds like a great, hedonistic mantra. Did he go to art school?

You recently made a film about a “breakthrough” moment that Len had. Can you tell us about that?

Frame enlargement from Peanut Vendor (1933)

What were some of the techniques he pioneered?

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Oh yeah, those films look amazing—like they’re alive almost.

Six frames from Tusalava (1929)

That’s a pretty big claim to fame for a guy from Christchurch.

What were some of the other films that Len made?

A Colour Box, Kaleidoscope

Colour Flight

Rainbow Dance

Trade Tattoo

Free Radicals

Particles in Space

A still from Birth of the Robot (1935).All photos courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation and the New Zealand Film Archive.

I’ve read something about Len taking mescalin with his wife and friend and while they were tripping balls, Len was just fine. Was this a regular thing?

East Village Other

What were some of the negative reactions to Len’s work?

Swinging the Lambeth Walk

That’s hard to imagine now.

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