Len Lye, whose birth name is shown above, is truly one of the most interesting people that I have ever read about. Aside from an obvious talent in filmmaking, Lye’s tale also includes an intriguing past. He was born in New Zealand and eventually worked his way to America by being a coal trimmer on a steamboat. Before learning that Lye was from New Zealand, I was actually reminded of a picture of a Maori chief while watching Trade Tattoo (see left). The influence of Maori influence on his work is extremely apparent in the moving shapes that appear throughout this piece. His fascination with the role of movement is arguably the factor that makes his films so appealing. Interestingly, I was also reminded of the AOL “You’ve got mail!” greeting during this screen, and I wonder if anyone responsible for creating that ever watched this film. Lye’s talent for creating eye-catching advertisements is fascinating. It’s weird to think that Shell was a major company as far back as 1936 when Birth of a Robot was made. It would be cool to see a modern commercial that followed in Len Lye’s footsteps, but one can safely assume that Shell, a company that is deeply involved in NASCAR to reach its target audience, would not be interested in creating an avant-garde advertisement.
No comments:
Post a Comment