Len Lye

*1901 in Christchurch (NZ); 1926 left for London where he became part of the Seven and Five Society (Robert Graves, Laura Riding and Ben Nicholson amongst others); 1944 moved to New York City; during the 1950s and 1960s he became a leading figure in the kinetic art movement; died in 1980.
Len Lye is particularly known for his experimental films and kinetic sculptures. He was largely a self-taught artist. Film-making became a speciality of the artists early career and continued to be an important outlet for Lye´s creativity up to his death. At first it was by "re-inventing" the advertisement and documentary film genres, enlivening them with abstract designs, bright colour and jazz music. Later it was through his so-called "scratch films" in which no camera was used, but the the artist scratched on the celluloid. 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.