Life's Musical Minute

Life’s Musical Minute, ca. 1953, 2 mins

In 1944 Lye moved to New York to take up a job directing for the March of Time, a current affairs series.  He settled in New York’s West Village and mixed with the artists who would later be known as the Abstract Expressionists (or “New York School”). He encouraged young American film-makers such as Francis Lee and Ian Hugo, and he taught film-making with Hans Richter.  Unfortunately the March of Time series came to an end in 1951, leaving Lye out of work. He tried to create work for himself by making sample television ads. Unfortunately, the American corporations and advertising agencies he approached were not interested because they regarded his approach as too avant-garde. Unlike his friend Norman McLaren, who gained support for his experiments at the Canadian Film Board, Lye could not find any sponsors for his films in the USA. Despite countless rejections, he continued to make demos (sample films).  Life’s Musical Minute, recently re-discovered, is a short promotional film of this kind, based on Gene Krupa’s drum solo from “Golden Wedding” by the Woody Herman jazz band. It was Lye’s attempt to gain support from Life Magazine.