#100days - '86: Len Lye exhibition @GovettBrewster

Today's entry in this 100-day countdown to my 2000th blip is number 86 - 1986, to be precise. I was a reporter for The Daily News in Taranaki, moving to the main office at New Plymouth around September that year. Amongst other jobs I became arts correspondent for the paper, which meant anything from interviewing touring bands to covering visuals arts & crafts.

Happily for me, that meant I got sneak previews of amazing exhibitions at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in the city. G-BAG is still at the leading edge of avant-garde work, something that was a true rarity for a provincial gallery in the 1980s.

The Govett-Brewster was fortunate to house major works by the amazing artist Len Lye, whose kinetic sculptures and pioneering work in film deserves more recognition IMHO.

At the end of 1986 the gallery staged a show called Len Lye: Art In Motion, and I went along with a photographer to get something for the paper. Having secured the necessary, I posed for this playful pic in front of the official wall mural welcoming people to the show. Can't recall who took the photo, but I've keep it ever since. Obviously, this was when I still had hair!

I went back to the Govett-Brewster in 2016, which now has an amazing sculptural exterior to celebrate Len Lye and a permanent exhibition of his works inside. Well worth a visit should you ever be in New Plymouth, NZ!