1935-1937 Len Lye - "Kaleidoscope" + "A Colour Box" + "Colour Flight" (highlights mix)

This video is an adaptation of the original works; several fragments were edited together to give a short impression of Len Lye's creations. Please view (and buy) the originals where available.
Len Lye (05-07-1901 - 15-05-1980) was an artist from New Zealand who made experimental films and kinetic sculptures. In the early 1920s Lye travelled widely in the South Pacific and was influenced by the art of Māori, Australian Aboriginal, Pacific Island and African cultures, He was once expelled from Samoa by the New Zealand colonial administration for living within an indigenous community.
In London he reinvented the technique of drawing directly on film. "A Colour Box" was the first direct film screened to a general audience. Most of his animations are abstract, sometimes with stenciled messages to promote the services of British General Post Office or other employers. The two small vertical bars in this video (part of "Kaleidoscope" refer to cigarettes,as the film was sponsored as a prestige advertisement for Churchman's Cigarettes. For the first screening of the film, Lye cut the cigarette shapes out of the print, so that the light would project directly through them onto the screen.
A Colour Box won a Medal of Honour at the 1935 International Cinema Festival in Brussels. Having no suitable category in which to award the film, the jury simply invented a new one.
This video also contains a small marine-themed segment of "Rainbow Dance" (1936), of which another edit can be viewed on this channel.
info from Wikipedia and Govett Brewster Art Gallery
Music: "La Belle Créole" by Don Barreto & son Orchestre Cubain

[@RedHotHead1110]

This short is one of the inspirations for the opening credits for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

[@JoesAnimationHub]

just watched this on a "Secrets of British Animation" programme on BBC 4, and I learnt that if you pause on some of the frames you can see Lye's fingerprints where he applied the paint on the film.

[@kaitlynanimationz]

Sameee

[@danielslade9485]

So much creativity from someone down under.

[@EJosey]

wow! it's insane to know this was made entirely in the 2.2 editor. and with only 47 objects! hope to see this verified soon

[@kellywalker1664]

Using advertising material in the most unadvertising way possible. I like it.

[@chocoblocko9]

the memory level

[@ShadowsOnTheScreen]

This was very cool, and the music really added to it.

[@sambaker3233]

classic new Zealand art

[@anautisticpersonxd3324]

😂

[@Fete_Fatale]

I first saw a Len Lye show at a Wellington Film Society night way back in the early 1980s. This, and "Free Radicals" later inspired me to make derivative pieces in Super8 some years later ... Len's always been treasured in NZ

[@m3rcur1u5]

No 4K? COME ON!

[@icanclimbanything6384]

HOLY SHIT

[@haribrooker]

Does anyone know whether this wonderful music is in the public domain/ has a creative commons license? Thank you.

[@Caslon159]

The music is by Don Barreto and his Cuban orchestra, but the musical style is from the French Caribbean (Martinique and Guadeloupe). Both this band and the Lecuonal Cuban Boys were big hits in the Paris nightclubs in the 1930s (all the recordings were made in Paris.).

[@sullivanjameson9138]

this is proper decent m8

[@Wolfii_TM]

Why do I feel depressed after watching this?

[@dullknifefactory]

He took you to another dimension and left you there.

[@icanclimbanything6384]

Happius Kenbe fuck he totally did...

[@user-rz7ko2cj9c]

I heard this is what you feel after LSD

[@JohnMoseley]

No, it's better. LSD just weirds you out and leaves you feeling ravaged. This puts a huge smile on your face.

[@user-di9cy1zt3g]

how the song called

[@magicalmotionmuseum]

Music: "La Belle Créole" by Don Barreto & son Orchestre Cubain

[@offtheair2657]

"Famous For Fine Flavour- Churchman's Cigarettes" at 1:56, right after the cigarette dance. Possible early subliminal advertising, or just product placement?

[@magicalmotionmuseum]

As explained in the description: many of Len Lye's films were actually some sort of advertisements, or sponsored art, or something in between. "A Colour Box" promoted "cheaper parcel post" for the British General Post Office, "Kaleidoscope" was sponsored by Imperial Tobacco Company of India and "Colour Flight" was sponsored by Imperial Airways. Some sponsored messages are left out of this edit, but in the original films they are usually quite nicely integrated without spoiling the beauty of Lye's work: it seems like he found some inspiration for the films in whatever product or service was to be sponsored and then could get totally creative, while his employers/sponsors seem to have had plenty of appreciation for his more abstract and artful approach.

[@Wolfii_TM]

@@magicalmotionmuseum To add to this, Len Lye made an experimental film called "Rythm" in 1957 which featured films of factory workers in the Ford motor company, it actually received an award for the most creative commercial during one of the first animation film festivals in Europe. However, the Ford motor company marketing campaign turned down the film for advertising.

[@calebhein4204]

Banana?

[@herbequichante9527]

The fisrt video seems like the beginning of Scott Pilgrim!

[@AlphasysNl]

Fairly psychedelic clip, quite reminiscent of early 8-bit computer demo's.

[@anautisticpersonxd3324]

Uh

[@mikeskadi]

IS THIS HORROR???????????

[@JohnMoseley]

No, it's lovely. Open up to it. It's just someone trying to show you a really good time.

[@odioalospoopers]

it is until you decide it is not, then it becomes chill in a strange way