SCULPTURE

Though he had made some kinetic constructions and small sculptures in the 1920s, it was not until 1958 that in a burst of creativity, Len Lye turned to "tangible motion sculpture".  Beginning with a 1961 performance of Lye's kinetics at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he rode a wave of international interest in kinetic art. Though much of Lye's sculpture consists of motorized stainless steel, he was indifferent to technology and more interested in the sculpture's relation to the body. "Kinetic experience lies deep in our bones," Lye noted, "It is a more constant experience than any other.  Our hearts beat, blood runs, rib cages expand and contract, eardrums resonate, lungs vibrate, every attitude we enact we enact kinetically."  It was an appreciation of this experience that Lye sought to communicate in all of his sculpture.