Color Cry
Len Lye borrowed a direct photographic process from surrealist artist Man Ray, the rayograph, for Color Cry. Fabric swatches and stencils create colourful patterns that swim across the screen, accompanied by the blues harmonica of Sonny Terry.
Collection reference F9062
Year 1952
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Ariel’s Song / Full Fathom Five
This short test utilises a clip of Sir John Gielgud reciting a passage from The Tempest.
Collection reference F44936
Year 1953
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Life’s Musical Minute
After moving from London to New York in the mid-1940s, Len Lye made a number of promotional films as pitches for American corporations in the hope of being commissioned. One of those films, rediscovered after his death, was this jazzy little number for Life Magazine.
Collection reference F53154
Year 1953
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All Souls Carnival
Len Lye usually timed his films with great care to match their soundtracks, but for All Souls Carnival, he and composer Henry Brant worked separately, preferring to see if the score and visual track would synchronise by chance. Lye also experimented with a new Direct Film technique, drenching the filmstrip in colourful paint and marker pen.
Collection reference F44876
Year 1957
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Rhythm
Len Lye’s avant garde television commercial for Chrysler was constructed out of stock footage of a car being built on an assembly line, sped up through jump cuts and accompanied by African drumming. The effect is energetic and very modern; unfortunately, while Rhythm was later admired for its artistic qualities, the client disliked it so much it was never aired.
Collection reference F2300
Year 1957
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Free Radicals
Stepping away from his usual jazz soundtrack, for Free Radicals Lye chose music by the Bagirmi people of Chad. The imagery is scratched by hand into black film, creating extremely stark visuals that form an unexpected and stimulating contrast with the human sounds of acoustic music.
Collection reference F7706
Year 1958
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Pictures for Percussion
Len Lye made Pictures for Percussion and Prime Time as samples for television stations while living in the United States. They reuse some material from Tal Farlow, Free Radicals and Rhythm, adding hand colouring.
Collection reference F44934
Year 1958
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Prime Time
Len Lye made Prime Time and Pictures for Percussion as samples for television stations while living in the United States. They reuse some material from Tal Farlow, Free Radicals and Rhythm, adding hand colouring.
Collection reference F44939
Year 1958
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Fountain of Hope/Peace
Fountain of Hope/Peace was commissioned by the United Nations with the intention of distribution on television and in theatres around the world. Words for ‘peace’ appear in multiple languages, superimposed above one of Lye’s stainless steel Fountain sculptures.
Collection reference F216240
Year 1959
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Particles in Space
Like Free Radicals, which he made 20 years earlier, Particles in Space is another black and white scratch film. The lines are fuzzier and the shapes more diffuse than in Free Radicals, but again the imagery responds to the sounds of drums – this time from Nigeria and the Bahamas.
Collection reference F3754
Year 1959
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Tal Farlow
Len Lye’s last film was a visual accompaniment to Tal Farlow’s 1954 bebop track “Rock n Rye”. White lines on black film recall the strings of Farlow’s guitar. This is a deceptively simple piece where the synchronisation was critical, and the animation was timed to the split second. Tal Farlow was finished by an assistant upon Lye’s death.
Collection reference F1450
Year 1980
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