Len Lye

Sorry for the lack of posts from me lately. I’m in the middle of a week-long road trip from Savannah to San Francisco, and it doesn’t leave me much time for writing. I did, however, want to make a quick post about one of the pioneers of animation that laid a lot of groundwork for motion graphics.

Calling Len Lye an animator probably isn’t accurate, though. Actually, calling him anything isn’t really accurate. He was a difficult to categorize artist/experimental filmmaker/writer that made his mark in just about every art form possible.

In the context of motion graphics, though, Lye did two important things: 1) Like Oskar Fischinger, Lye showed how the unification of music and abstract visuals can create enchanting experiences. 2) Lye pushed the medium in new directions, coming up with novel methods for creating his visuals by etching and scratching onto black film stock.

The resulting wild dances of color are a testament to the joys of experimental filmmaking/animation. May we all draw inspiration from Lye’s pioneering spirit.

For a much better write-up on Len Lye, check out this post on City of Sound.