Author(s): Len Lye; Roger Horrocks

Art | Aotearoa New Zealand Non-Fiction

Born in Christchurch in 1901, Len Lye was driven by a lifelong passion for motion and energy, and how to represent them in art. He moved to London, where he exhibited with Frances Hodgkins and Henry Moore, and then to New York, where he became renowned as a film-maker and kinetic sculptor. Today his work is held in the collections of major art museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago and Centre Pompidou in Paris. In 1977, Lye returned to New Zealand for the first local exhibition of his work. Shortly before his death three years later, the Len Lye Foundation was established, and he bequeathed it his work. New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is home to this amazing collection. In July 2015 the city council is opening a stunning, architecturally designed centre devoted to Lye's art and ideas.

Review: "Zizz! is more than equal to its tasks, and unlikely to be replaced for years to come . . . it is unquestionably irreplaceable and unique . . . Zizz! possesses all the presence and authority of an autobiography, even though strictly speaking, it isn't one." --Wystan Curnow, New Zealand Books: A Quarterly Review
"[Len Lye's] voice remains so utterly vibrant and rich in perceptivity . . . Zizz! serves as a concise and lively vehicle to access the thoughts and ruminations of this thoroughly memorable New Zealand artist." --Martin Patrick, NZ Listener
"Horrocks is perhaps our greatest authority on Lye's life and work . . . Len Lye was a singular soul. He was a living, breathing embodiment of the avant-garde; an electric eccentric, a two-legged work of art, a visitor from the kaleidoscope world." --Grant Smithies, Sunday Star Times
"Your book has zizz! It's full of energy, not too long, not too short. It has wonderful moments of his life, and the energy that comes off the page from Len Lye is amazing." --Andrew Dickens, Newstalk ZB