Hordaland Kunstsenter

Len Lye (1901-1980) is to the general audience a rather unknown artist from the previous century. Despite this his works are well known among artists, as well as filmmakers. Len LIVE! is an evening screening of three of Len Lye’s films: All Soul's Carnival (1957), Kaleidoscope (1935) and Tusalava (1929) created as a companion to the ongoing exhibition at Hordaland Art Centre.

Lye sometimes created several versions of the same work, which we take advantage of in this evening programme. Tusalava was first screened at the London Film Society in 1929, but the score of the film, composed by Jack Ellit for two pianos, was unfortunately lost. We have invited the three sound artists Espen Sommer Eide, Lasse Marhaug and Maia Urstad to create new scores. Sommer Eide and Urstad will perform live.

All Soul’s Carnival and Kaleidoscope will be screened with original sound. All Soul’s Carnival was created in 1957 to accompany a suite of chamber music by Henry Brant, and the goal was not synchronisation but a free interaction. In Kaleidoscope from 1935 on the other hand Lye’s image world was synchronised to music by Don Baretto and his Cuban Orchestra.

In the exhibition which is open until March 13^th we show six of his films made between 1935 and 1979: A Colour Box (1935), Trade Tattoo (1937), Swinging the Lambeth Walk (1939), Rhythm (1957), Free Radicals (1958, re-edited 1979) and Particles in Space (1957).

Lye’s starting point was always movement, and his films were created with new methods: he scratched and painted directly on the celluloid film, making so called “direct film”. That way he could explore expressions otherwise not possible at the time within the medium of film in an expressive way. Lye also investigated scale with his sculptures, sometimes making several versions of the same piece in different sizes.

Espen Sommer Eide is a musician and artist currently living in Bergen. He composes under the alias Phonophani, and as a member of the band Alog. In addition to extensive live performances in Europe, Japan and USA he develops site specific sound installations. These projects include composing and performing music for the 50-year anniversary of Le Corbusiers chapel in Ronchamp, France, building the sound art installation Sonus Barentsicus for the Northern Lights Festival in Tromsø, Norway 2007, and a special performance at the Manifesta7 biennale in Italy, where local vinyl records were reconstructed into new musical instruments. In addition to making music and art, Eide has also been directing the Trollofon electronic music festival in Bergen (2001-2006), is currently a member of the theatre-collective Verdensteatret, involved especially with building instruments and sound design and works as artistic developer at BEK (Bergen Center of Electronic Arts).

Lasse Marhaug has since the early 90ies been one of the most active artists in the so-called Norwegian noise scene. As a performer and composer he has contributed to well over 200 CD, vinyl and cassette releases over the years, as well as extensive touring and performing live in Europe, Asia and America. In addition to his solo work, Marhaug plays regularly in projects Jazkamer, Nash Kontroll, DEL and Testicle Hazard. Past projects and bands include Origami Replika and Lasse Marhaug Band. He has collaborated with several artists in the fields of noise, experimental, improv, jazz, rock and extreme metal, as well as working with music and sound for theatre, dance, installations and video. He works with different kinds of instrumentation; from guitar-pedals and homemade electronics to computers and modified guitars, but conciders the mixing-board his main instrument. Marhaug was born in the northern regions above the Arctic Circle of Norway, but currently lives and works in Oslo.

Maia Urstad is an artist working at the intersection of audio and visual art. Her work involves integrating sound into specific locations. Recent practice includes outdoor and indoor sound installations and performances, using CD and cassette-radios for both sound transmission and as sculptural objects, commenting on the temporary nature of present technology. Urstad’s works have been presented in different contexts around the world, and she was recently invited by Resonance - European Sound Art Network to develop a sound installation to be displayed in five different European cities throughout 2011-12. Her works have been shown in Bergen Kunstmuseum, Lydgalleriet, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Kaliningrad MOMA, Mamam do Patio Recife, Brasil, Prefix ICA Toronto, Malmö Konsthall amongst other. She is also part of the international group freq-out curated by CM von Hausswolff, curates and produces sound- related art projects and exhibitions through her company Maur Prosjekter, and is one of the founders of Lydgalleriet. Published by Touch Music (MCPS).

--------

The exhibition Len Lye is curated by artist HC Gilje and director Anne Szefer Karlsen and produced by Hordaland Art Centre, with valuable support from The Len Lye Foundation/The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and The New Zealand Film Archive Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua.