Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The New Zealand-born artist Leonard Charles Huia Lye (1901-80), better known as Len Lye, is renowned for his work in kinetic sculpture and experimental film, and is widely considered one of the most innovative modernists of the 20th century. Lye’s first film, Tusalava (1929), produced over two years following a move to London, was born of the city’s emerging experimental film scene and Lye’s abiding interest in Maori, Aboriginal and Samoan art. Composed of some 7,000 hand-drawn images, the abstract animation synthesises modern and ancient art as it depicts simple life forms emerging, evolving and coming into conflict. As with the influence of African art on Pablo Picasso, Lye’s use of so-called ‘primitivism’ has been both praised for introducing non-Western perspectives to Western art, and criticised for cultural appropriation. The film was originally paired with a now-lost piano score from the UK-born composer Jack Ellitt. This version features the UK composer Eugene Goossens’s composition Rhythmic Dance (1928), which Lye later suggested as an alternative accompaniment.
Director: Len Lye
Score: Eugene Goossens
Websites: The Len Lye Foundation, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
video
Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
video
Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands
29 minutes
video
Art
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes
video
Ethics
For Iris Murdoch, selfishness is a fault that can be solved by reframing the world
6 minutes
video
Death
A hunter’s lyrical reflection on the humbling business of being mortal
6 minutes
video
Love and friendship
After his son’s terrorist attack, Azdyne seeks healing – and his granddaughter
25 minutes
video
Art
More than breathtaking, ‘The Birth of Venus’ signalled an aesthetic revolution
19 minutes
video
Childhood and adolescence
Striking shadow puppetry illuminates a skater kid’s memories of Boy Scout camp
12 minutes