Tusalava

[henryandjoes]

This is really amazing. Lye was a brilliant artist and an amazingly genious innovator of art film!

[enistoja]

It made me think of some manner of cell and virus at the start, until it turned into a humanoid drawing on the right and the two-armed thing on the left. Then I just stood there wondering.

Interesting sound choice you had for this.

[descaflow]

This is one of my favorite videos on all of youtube.

[Ziplock74]

target logo 9:50

[siosism]

lol fair enough man - I guess that's why it's "abstract!"

[summer2796]

萌え死ぬ

[siosism]

could anyone give a simple explanation of this film?

[nonamefox]

@siosism

This was an abstract experimental animation, there is no simple explanation for avangarde films like that, dude!

[TheChunkBoi]

@siosism

its an alien

[iiahuuu]

@siosism - this is a passage from the book Motion Graphic Design by Jon Krasner, so I've just wrote it back here for you. I think it is a very important film and your question seems fair. Revolutionary New Zealand animator Len Lye, who often referred to

himself as “an artist for the twenty-first century,” pioneered the directon-

film technique of cameraless animation by painting and scratching

onto 35mm celluloid.

[iiahuuu]

@siosism

 His use of abstract, metaphorical images are a

product of his association with Surrealism, Futurism, Constructivism,

and Abstract Expressionism, as well as his affinity for jazz, Oceanic

art, and calligraphy. His use of percussive music, saturated color, and

organic forms had a major impact on a genre that later became known

as music video.

[iiahuuu]

@siosism Living in Samoa between 1922 and 1923, Lye became

inspired by Aboriginal motifs and produced his first animated silent

film, Tusalava (1929), which he created to express “the beginnings of

organic life” (1.14).

[siosism]

@iiahuuu wow, didn't know he lived in Samoa!

[iiahuuu]

@siosism This film took approximately two years to complete,

since each frame was hand-painted and photographed individually.

In a 16mm abstract film titled Free Radicals (1958), Lye scratched

the content onto a few thousand feet of black film leader using tools

ranging from sewing needles to Indian arrowheads.

[JordanFive]

Does anyone know if this can be found on DVD?

[taysllim]

Though I am usually opposed to the reworking of sound on old films I really like the work that you did with the sound here. I feel that it captures the organic psychedelic nature of the work and I approve. Good job.

[azulo65]

Interesting film... and interesting music too!