Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth - New Zealand's Biggest Gap Year – BackpackerGuide.NZ
Day 46: Today we are checking out the free Govett-Brewster Art gallery / Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth, Taranaki. Robin also gets a haircut at the Jetcharm Barber Shop.
Yesterday - Day 45 -
Tomorrow – Day 47 –
About this video:
It’s Day 46 of New Zealand’s Biggest Gap Year and today we are continuing a culture crawl through New Plymouth, which has to be one of the most artistic and artsy cities in New Zealand! First stop, Robin is getting a haircut at the Jetcharm Barber Shop, which is also an art gallery that we went to in this video:
He gets a damn good haircut and looks ready for our next art gallery on the New Zealand travel itinerary: The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre. This is a free art gallery in New Plymouth which has some amazing architecture and exhibitions.
The exhibitions in the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth change four times a year so we can only show you what exhibition theme was around when we were there.
So what do you think of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth? Is the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery somewhere you would check out while in Taranaki? Let us know in the comments below!
#NewPlymouth #BackpackerGuideNZ #NewZealand #TravelNZ #TravelNewZealand #Travel #NZMustDo #Taranaki
Subscribe ➜
Share ➜
Web ➜
Connect on Social Media
YouTube Channel ➜
FB ➜
IG ➜
Pinterest ➜
Twitter ➜
New Zealand Biggest Gap Year
365 Days: 365 Activities
This year, Robin and Laura from the online New Zealand travel guide BackpackerGuide.NZ, are hitting the road for an entire year to bring you the best activities and most awesome destinations in New Zealand. To do that, we are challenging ourselves to 365 Days: 365 Activities. We call it New Zealand’s Biggest Gap Year. Join the adventure as we show you want backpacking New Zealand is like as we do a mix of New Zealand adventure activities and New Zealand on a budget. Enjoy!
Read more about the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth on New Zealand’s biggest guide for backpackers:
Govett Brewster – Len Lye Centre – New Plymouth
An interesting architectural and important national arts project in New Plymouth, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, is New Zealand's most courageous contemporary art museum and home to the collection of modernist filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye.
To find out more about this project visit:
Len Lye Centre:
About Len Lye:
Rivet:
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre is New Zealand's leading contemporary art museum
Govett-Brewster Information Officer Ellie: We know people love the Len Lye building, people come from all around the world to take a look, inside the space is more than just a world class art gallery. There are actually six gallery spaces, and we shake up the gallery every 4 months with new exhibitions. The centre is not just about art, it's a cultural hub too with amazing art programmes, a cinema, gift shop and café. Here at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery we invite you to explore the wonderful spaces and activities. Come and take a look.
With thanks to the artists:
Yuko Mohri Moré Moré (Leaky): Variations 1, 2017–2018
Sergei Tcherepnin Aviary Clones 2018
Danae Valenza Align/Intime (news from nowhere) 2018
Danae Valenza Your Motion Says 2016
Video by Cat and Mouse TV
뉴플리머스 렌라이 센터 건물 / 아트 캘러리 Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre, New Plymouth, New Zealand 뉴질랜드
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre, contemporary art & experimental film, New Plymouth, New Zealand 고프로 히어로6 (GoPro Hero 6) 뉴질랜드
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre Opens 25 Jul 2015
New Zealand has re-opened the doors to its contemporary art museum, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, with a new addition dedicated to the pioneering filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye.
The opening on 25 July is the culmination of more than three decades’ commitment to realising a permanent home for Lye’s work, a significant collection and archive of more than 18,000 items.
The Len Lye Centre, designed by New Zealand’s Patterson Associates, is the repository of the works, archive and spirit of Len Lye (1901–1980.
The Len Lye Centre opened in 2015.
For more information visit our website
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre
42 Queen Street
New Plymouth
Aotearoa New Zealand
Len Lye Centre Opening 2013
Since 1970, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery has continued to be a beacon for contemporary art.
A new phase in the Govett-Brewster's history begins with the construction of the Len Lye Centre as well as earthquake strengthening, Gallery upgrades and building compliance on the original building. The new combined facility, reopening in 2015, will extend the Govett-Brewster's ability to offer extraordinary experiences with contemporary art while offering a new permanent home for the art and ideas of Len Lye.
For more information visit our website
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre
42 Queen Street
New Plymouth
Aotearoa New Zealand
Len Lye Centre Concept 2012
An experimental film-maker, poet, painters, kinetic sculptor, eccentric and ebullient personality, Len Lye is on of New Zealand's most widely-known modernist artists.
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is home to the archives and studio collection of the Len Lye Foundation. Born in Christchurch in 1901 and largely self-educated, Lye was driven by a life-long passion for motion, energy and the possibility of composing them as a form of art. Lye's interests took him far from New Zealand; after sojourns in the South Pacific, Lye moved to London and then New York, where he became known as an intensely creative film-maker and kinetic sculptor.
In 1977, Len Lye returned to his homeland to oversee the first New Zealand exhibition of his work at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Shortly before his death in 1980, Lye and his supporters established the Len Lye Foundation, to which he gave his work. The Gallery is the repository for much of this collection, employing a full-time curator to ensure its preservation and appropriate exhibition.
Lye's sculptures are also held in the collections of several major art museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Whitney Museum in New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Major repositories of Lye's film work include the New Zealand Film Archive, the British Film Institute and the Museum of Modern Art.
For more information visit our website
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre
42 Queen Street
New Plymouth
Aotearoa New Zealand
The inspiration behind the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre brand identity
New Zealand’s museum of contemporary art, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery unveils its new brand as it prepares to open its doors with the Len Lye Centre, 25 July 2015.
NZSL Welcome to Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
NZSL Welcome to Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Pioneering, daring and what Len Lye called the 'swingiest art gallery in the antipodes', the Govett-Brewster is a contemporary art museum in New Plymouth, with an international reputation and reach.
Signed by Bernadette Cutelli in New Zealand Sign Language + in Closed Captions.
For more information visit our website
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre
42 Queen Street
New Plymouth
Aotearoa New Zealand
Construction of the Len Lye Centre
We take a look at the construction of the Len Lye Centre. The architect Andrew Patterson, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Director Simon Rees and Clelands Construction supervisor Layton Cottam discuss the vision of the new art museum addition, leading up the opening 25 July 2015.
The Cell - in the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery (New Plymouth)
North Island - New Zealand
NZSL 'Ruth Buchanan - The actual and its document' 10 Sep — 4 Dec 2016
Ruth Buchanan: The actual and its document
10 Sep – 4 Dec 2016
Ruth Buchanan spent three months in New Plymouth in the summer of 2015-2016 as the Govett-Brewster Aotearoa New Zealand Artist in Residence. During this time Buchanan researched the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Collection and its strategies for acquiring artwork, as well as the cultural context informing them.
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, which opened in 1970, was founded in 1962 by the forward-thinking Monica Brewster (née Govett), who further endowed the establishment of the collection in 1969. The inaugural director, John Maynard, formulated progressive exhibition and collection policies, many of which remain today. In The actual and its document, Buchanan focuses on the period between 1970 and 1983, dates that coincide with both the Govett-Brewster’s formation and the time in which the Buchanan family lived in Taranaki. Of particular interest to the artist was The Great De-Accession Exhibition in 1982, a project led by the then Director Dick Bett. All of the works from the collection (aside from works on paper and selected sculptures) were put on display in a salon-style hang, floor to ceiling, and the visiting public invited to review a selection of works deemed not relevant to the collection. A public discussion was held, with the exhibition and the debate surrounding it attracting national media interest. These are directly referenced in the exhibition here. Following this forum Bett recommended a streamlining of the collection to focus on four strengths – art from Taranaki, New Zealand sculpture, non-figurative painting and the work of Len Lye.
Buchanan’s work often deals with archives or collections, as well as the histories they embody and the cultural politics they manifest. The actual and its document emulates institutional exhibition making processes, mediating the experience of Don Driver’s Five part piece (1972), Tom Kreisler’s The Key (Coat III) (1970) and Greer Twiss’ Red Legs (1968), which together with the Len Lye work in the adjacent gallery act as placeholders for each of the aforementioned strengths of the collection. By treating these objects equally as artworks and props, the exhibition is both a metaphoric substitution for a historical event and a highly choreographed encounter. The gallery staff, usually guiding visitors and protecting artworks, are engaged as performers, reading a doctored transcription of the public forum held in 1982, while the timeline similarly destabilises regular chronology. The actual and its document references the gap that exists between an object or a history and how these might be documented or remembered – a timely project within the context of the expanded Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre, and one that re-affirms a dynamic space between action and perception.
Ruth Buchanan (Te Ātiawa/Taranaki) was born in New Plymouth and is based in Berlin. This exhibition is a reflection of the Govett-Brewster’s commitment to artists who were born here, have familial ties here, or affiliations to the institution, and consider Taranaki their tūrangawaewae (their rightful place to stand).
Curators: Sophie O’Brien and Chloe Cull
With thanks to the registration team, Kelly McCosh and Catherine Rhodes, and the staff at the Taranaki Research Centre and New Plymouth District Council archives.
NZSL Interpreter: Ruth Medcalf
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
42 Queen Street
New Plymouth, 4310
Aotearoa New Zealand
govettbrewster.com
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
It’s been ten years down and just six months to go on the fundraising and building of Aotearoa New Zealand’s newest cultural icon – the Len Lye Centre, combined with the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery here in New Plymouth.
The Len Lye Centre is the first piece of destination architecture linked to contemporary art in New Zealand, unique for its architecture, vision and the fact that building of this sort hasn’t been done before in our island nation.
My whole team would like to express our gratitude to the sponsors and funders along with all those dynamic individuals loyal to the spirit of Len Lye, who have made this project happen.
We look forward to welcoming you to the opening of the building mid-2015, comprising the re-launch of contemporary art and Len Lye exhibition-making that has made New Plymouth one of New Zealand’s capitals of culture.
Simon Rees, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre Director
Len Lye Centre 2015
The Len Lye Centre ($11.5m build and fit-out) is an international destination for experimental film and kinetic art. It houses the collection and archive of Len Lye, one of the most original and prolific artists of the twentieth century. Pioneer filmmaker, sculptor, painter and poet, with extensive work in kinetic sculpture, drawing, photography, painting, batik and writing, his extraordinary body of work gives a unique view into Modernism and offers a rich vein for inspiration and insight.
A stunning 32-tonne, 14m-high mirror-grade stainless steel facade which wraps around 14-metre-high concrete curtains, the 820 square metre Len Lye Centre forms an engaging path of exhibitions. It also incorporates a 62-seat cinema which also showcases the Christchurch-born innovator's filmography. This is New Zealand's first piece of destination architecture linked to contemporary art in New Zealand.
Len Lye (1901–1980) is arguably one of the twentieth century’s most original artists; a one-man art movement spanning several countries and multiple media over a lifetime and beyond. As a New Zealander practising in London during the pre-war years, and then a key figure in the post-war New York avant-garde art scene, Lye mapped a unique course through Modernism.
Len Lye Centre New Plymouth
Video of the exterior of the Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth New Zealand
Len Lye Building - New Plymouth
Venue hire at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre
Unique venue hire at the Govettf-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre. Cocktails and canapés, and hosting amidst Len Lye and contemporary art works, give your guests an occasion they'll remember.
Our newly refurbished Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre offers the perfect backdrop for events with ’zizz’.
From the architecture, with its curved exterior walls of mirror-like stainless steel, to the contemporary art, the scene is set for an event your guests will remember. With multiple galleries, education studios and a 62-seat cinema, we can offer you the perfect space for product launches, film screenings, corporate hosting, cocktail events, concerts and performances, weddings, lectures and work functions.
Whether you want to create a warm, intimate celebration for friends or a high-end, exclusive event to impress clients, our professional team will help you make it happen.
Contact our team for a quote on venue hire or to discuss your next event:
venues@govettbrewster.com
Len Lye 'Universe', Len Lye Centre, 1 August 2015
Len Lye 'Universe' kinetic sculpture at the Len Lye Centre, New Plymouth, New Zealand, on 1 August 2015.
Len Lye: Stopped Short by Wonder at Christchurch Art Gallery
Credits:
Len Lye Storm King 1964 (1997 reconstruction)
Len Lye Firebush 1961 (2007 reconstruction)
Len Lye Witch Dance 1965 (2016 reconstruction)
Len Lye Sketchbook (Totem and Taboo) circa 1924
Len Lye Polynesian Connection 1979.
Len Lye Grass 1961- 1965
Len Lye Rotating Harmonic 1960 (2009 reconstruction)
All Courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/ Len Lye Centre
Len Lye Universe 1976 (1998 reconstruction) steel, wood, electromagnets. Edmiston Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Te Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1995.
Len Lye Roundhead 1961 (2009 reconstruction) Private collection, Christchurch
Len Lye Blade 1998 Collection of John and Lynda Matthews, New Plymouth
Films:
Len Lye Tusalava 1929 Courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation. Digital version from material preserved and made available by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Len Lye Tal Farlow c. 1958, rev 1981. Courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation. Digital version by Park Road Post Production and Weta Digital Ltd from material preserved and made available by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Photographs:
Len Lye painting the film ‘Colour Flight’ 1938
Courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation Collection Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/ Len Lye Centre
Len Lye Flip and Two Twisters (Trilogy) 1977, 2016.
Len Lye Flip and Two Twisters (Trilogy) 1977, 2016.
Suspended from the ceiling, a large loop (Flip) and two long strips of stainless steel (Twisters) are spun and contorted into a motorised dance. Tension builds in the flexing steel, followed by sudden whiplash stops. The thunderous crash of Trilogy reverberates around the gallery, a sound described by Lye as like ‘icicles tumbling down your back’.
Described in Lye’s day as inducing terror in the audience, Trilogy is one of Lye’s masterpieces. A sculptural counterpart to the cinematic thrill of his film Free Radicals (1958), Trilogy holds a special place in the heart of the Govett-Brewster, built for the 1977 exhibition Kinetic Works – the first exhibition of Lye’s work in his homeland – and a historic part of the Govett-Brewster’s collection ever since.
Flip and Two Twisters (Trilogy) is the second in a series of exhibitions presented in the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre’s Large Works gallery that explore Len Lye’s large scale kinetic sculpture
Len Lye Flip and Two Twisters (Trilogy) 1977, 2016 at the Len Lye Centre. Govett-Brewster Collection. Video Bryan James