Len Lye Musical Poster #1 1940, film still. Courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation. From material preserved and made available by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Exhibition
30 Dec 2017 — 30 Mar 2018
Projection Series #9: Len Lye’s Jazz
Projection Series #9 screens daily at 1pm.
Len Lye carries the Projection Series into 2018 with an accent on the offbeat in Len Lye’s Jazz, a showcase of the filmmaker’s experimental films driven by jazz soundtracks.
At the heart of the Govett-Brewster/Len Lye Centre’s cinema programme, Projection Series surveys the landscape of historical and contemporary fine art filmmaking. The series continues to encourage audiences to experience the wider world of local and international film and moving image.
An integral element in Lye’s films, the soundtrack was the film’s engine room, providing the energy and vibrancy for the artist’s inimitable visuals. Often inspired by the music of Africa and its descendants in the Caribbean, Lye was duly captured by the rhythms of jazz. This short programme presents six films – including several ‘deep cuts’ - demonstrating Lye’s love of jazz and his status as an inventor of the modern ‘music video’.
Films screening in this programme:
Life's Musical Minute (1953)
Experimental Animation (1933)
Swinging the Lambeth Walk (1939)
N or NW (1937)
Musical Poster #1 (1940)
Tal Farlow (1980)
Curated by Paul Brobbel
Approximate running time: 30 minutes
Free entry, donations appreciated
