Days before New Plymouth’s Len Lye Centre opened to the public, we were extremely fortunate to shoot our ‘Lye of the Land’ fashion editorial there.

Not only is the artist’s work remarkable, but its new home breaks architectural ground in New Zealand. Designed by Pattersons, the Centre also offered us the opportunity to demonstrate the dynamic connection between fashion, art and architecture.

“The reason I am drawn to architecture is because it deals with a lot of the same concerns that I deal with in clothing,” said Joseph Altuzzara, the French-born, New York-based fashion designer. His sentiment echoes the notoriously outspoken Coco Chanel, who claimed “fashion is architecture: it’s a matter of proportions”.

As unique forms of expression, fashion, art and architecture share a connection. Each of these disciplines is as likely as the other to attract criticism and promote dialogue about artistic merit and integrity. And herein lies the beauty and burden of art – it provokes social and cultural progress.

Len Lye, New Zealand kinetic artist, film innovator and “the least boring person who ever existed”, said poet Alistair Read, was a provocateur whose influence was felt internationally before it was appreciated here. Lye declared himself “an artist for the 21st century” and his remarkable legacy has a suitably remarkable new home in New Plymouth. Even before it opened its doors in July, the Len Lye Centre drew scathing criticism, says curator Paul Brobbel, its form and function slated by a “vocal minority”. On the shiny side of the double-edged sword, the centre has garnered praise as a coup for New Zealand art and architecture.

If anyone could attest to the ability of tension to create outstanding results it would be Len Lye himself – tension forms the basis of his world-famous kinetic sculptures. Yet, without the technical skill and determination of local engineer, John Matthews, Lye’s work wouldn’t be where it is today. Not only did John work tirelessly to bring some of Lye’s sculptures to life, but he spearheaded the Centre’s development. It was his deep empathy and respect for the artist’s work that saw him appointed custodian to his legacy. As Lye said, “the whole business with any art is, first, empathy”.

Empathy was the thread that saw Pattersons appointed to design the building, with its striking façade comprising 22 interlocking concrete panels – each 14 metres tall and weighing 36 tonnes – clad in a 32-tonne stainless steel wave. “The architect had to be very in tune with Lye’s feelings and way of working,” says Paul, who speaks of the artist and his work as living entities. “So there’s an awful lot of his identity in there. The stainless steel, materially, has a really big connection to his work, while the wavy motion of the façade speaks to the rhythms of his work”.

The Centre is “a place where Lye’s work can be seen in the best way possible”, says Paul, who considers Lye a gateway artist for anyone with reservations about modern art. “He’s a very accessible artist, and his works are fun to engage with. The movement he had in his body and that he imparted into sculpture and onto film is something that you can feel directly. So it’s a different transaction to when you’re looking at a painting by Andy Warhol. It’s a visceral experience and that makes the artwork more immediate to the viewer.”

An added benefit of the dedicated Len Lye Centre is that it brings its parent gallery, the adjoining Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, into conversation with the artists who moved in the same circles as Lye, including Oskar Fischinger, Georgia O’Keefe, Picasso and Dali. “Would you bring Picasso to New Plymouth without the Len Lye Centre?”, asks Paul. “Very hard to do. But now it’s possible,” he says, citing Lye as “very fertile ground for creativity”.

Liam Bowden of premium New Zealand leather-goods label Deadly Ponies was eager to collaborate with the Len Lye Foundation, having entered into business with the Govett-Brewster in 2011, when the gallery’s shop began stocking his products. It was on a visit there a couple of years ago that they discussed the Len Lye collection. Liam expressed his disbelief that it wasn’t being merchandised. “When I first came to the gallery I wanted a postcard, I wanted a poster of his stills, I wanted something! I couldn’t believe they had nothing that showed how visual and amazing his stuff is.”

A long-time fan of Lye’s films, Liam admits he’s very commercially minded when it comes to art: “I’m always thinking ‘how can I have this around me all the time?’ I’m not going to have a screen in my house playing his films all day, so what else can we do?”

When the Govett-Brewster invited Liam to submit a proposal for a collaboration, the ideas flowed freely. “His works are the complete package,” says Liam. “There’s music, there’s movement, there’s dancing, there’s colour. It’s very easy to visualise making something out of them.”

Would this have pleased Lye? Both Liam and Paul point out that Lye was, in many ways, a commercial artist himself. “He created ads for big corporations out of his artworks and he hung out with Man Ray and Andy Warhol. It’s not crazy to think that if he was still around he might have done something for Coke.” Paul agrees: “You can’t beat yourself up too much about it. You know when you’re going too far and what’s within reasonable boundaries.”

The Len Lye Foundation requires that artworks can only be reproduced in full, with no cropping or manipulation of any kind. As a result, several of Liam’s designs were canned from production when they were deemed too removed from the original image. Despite a few setbacks along the way, what has transpired is a slick collection of eight pieces, including bags, wallets and scarves, that feature five Len Lye prints.

In making his final selections, Liam hoped to strike a balance between prints that were iconic Len Lye, but that would resonate with a consumer who didn’t know anything about the artist. Lye’s standing as a significant international artist and genius in his field was also front-of-mind when Liam was working on the collection. He was motivated to create products that he’d be proud to have in his archives.  “As designers,” he explains, “it can be easy for us to be like, ‘we’re onto the next thing’. But they [the Foundation] has to live with this collection forever, so we look at it like it’s forever. It’s not flash in the pan.”

On that note, the last word goes to Len Lye: “The greatest thing about life is its magic. The greatest thing to do is to get some of it while the going’s good. The greatest way to give thanks is to add to it. Art is a way not only to feel the magic, but to add to it permanently.”

Words: Phoebe Watt
Photos: Supplied