Len Lye: A Biography

The life of an extraordinary New Zealander told for the first time. A charismatic personality Lye was a major New Zealand artist and a leading figure in international modernism who lived in London and New York but always retained a South Pacific energy and informality. There is a growing interest in his work and it is well illustrated in this book.

Len Lye: A Biography tells for the first time the story of a unique, charismatic artist who was an innovator in many areas– film, kinetic sculpture, painting, photography and poetry. Born in New Zealand in 1901, Len Lye gained an international reputation in the arts and had friendships with many famous people– including Dylan Thomas, Robert Graves, Gertrude Stein, John Grierson, Norman McLaren, Oskar Fischinger, John Cage, Robert Creeley, Laura Riding, Stan Brakhage, and the artists of the New York School. A colorful bohemian, Lye lived in London from 1926 to 1944 (where he made highly original hand-painted films for John Grierson's GPO Film Unit), then moved to New York for the last 36 years of his life. Describing Len Lye as a "trailblazer" and a "one-man modern art movement" in Sight & Sound, Ian Francis also celebrated this superb biography as "the definitive piece of Lye scholarship."





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