Zizz. It’s a word pioneer filmmaker, sculptor, painter and poet Len Lye used to describe the key mix of energy, ideas, creativity and bravery that make a piece of art 'pop'.
Zizz oozes from Lye’s renowned kinetic and visual works, and it radiates from the dazzling stainless steel façade of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre, the New Plymouth gallery where Lye’s life’s work is housed and displayed.
The gallery’s deputy director, Antony Rhodes, also believes it aptly describes Taranaki. “As an idea, zizz is at the heart of our region’s past success, and will be critical to our future growth,” he says.
“We’re out on a limb here, and because of that, as a region we’ve never been afraid to challenge the norm and do things differently – we have a rich tradition of innovative thinking.”
The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre exemplifies that.
In the 1960s, local arts patron and woman’s advocate Monica Brewster made a sizable donation to the city to set up a contemporary art gallery. The council of the day “to its credit, picked up the idea and ran with it,” says Antony.
The Govett-Brewster opened in 1970 and two years later the New Zealand-born Lye was invited to exhibit. When he visited in 1977, Lye called the Govett-Brewster the “swingiest art gallery in the antipodes”, and promptly gifted his life’s work and legacy to the people of New Zealand, to be housed at the Govett-Brewster.
Since its inception, the gallery has continued to push the boundaries, and remain independent and radically relevant, showcasing world-class local, national and international contemporary art. A new chapter was added in 2015, with the building of the soaring Len Lye Centre – itself a remarkable piece of built art that has graced magazine covers around the world.
“By rights, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre shouldn’t exist in regional New Zealand, let alone Taranaki. The fact it does is testament to the people who have enabled it to be here,” says Antony.
“Contemporary art exists to foster engagement, conversation, to create new ideas and build connections that weren’t there previously. The gallery absolutely does that."
“We’re at the forefront of what’s happening in contemporary art. We’re doing things no-one else is doing.”
The world’s largest guide book publisher Lonely Planet agrees. In 2017, it judged Taranaki the second best region in the world to visit and highlighted the Govett-Brewster and Len Lye Centre as “a deliciously offbeat new gallery”.
“Contemporary art exists to foster engagement, conversation, to create new ideas and build connections that weren’t there previously. The gallery absolutely does that."
As well as a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, Len Lye works, and a vast range of events for people of all ages, the gallery also boasts a hi-tech cinema, where art house, documentary, festival and non-mainstream films are shown daily.
“The magic of Govett-Brewster is that you could be anywhere in the world, but the way we do things really connects to the fact that you are still in Taranaki – we’re reflecting the stories of our place, our past, our people and our future,” Antony says.
“Art captures and shapes what’s going in the world. The aim for Govett-Brewster is to remain radically relevant, and continue to make a difference.”