‘Man Ray was very intense... I wasn't shy and I was pretty and that helped'

The American artist Liliane Lijn works in an old ­textile warehouse in north ­London, a low brick building with vast wooden doors. On a cold spring morning, she opens them dressed in silvery green, yellow and azure blue, as if she had recently escaped from a Matisse painting.
Lijn, who has lived in Britain for nearly 60 years, made her mark with the kinetic art movement in early 1960s Paris and the counterculture scene in Swinging London. Now 85, she remains a lively force, with intense eyes and a brisk ­confidence.
'Let me turn some work on,' says Lijn, as she ushers me into her ­studio, where rooms unfold around a glass courtyard. She leads the way, flicking various switches, and one artwork after another slowly grinds into action, filling the space with tocks and clicks.
Lijn has an exhibition at Tate St Ives this month, Arise Alive. It coincides with the publication of her memoir and the display of two pieces in Tate Modern's group show Electric Dreams. St Ives is the coup, though. Despite having a rich body of work and a successful career, it is her first major museum survey in Britain – and sorely overdue.
'Kinetic art was never taken seriously by the establishment,' Lijn tells me. 'It wasn't marketable and that was a problem. I had a period in the 1990s where there was practically no interest in my work. Of course it was depressing, but somehow I didn't really doubt what I was doing. I always felt I was on the right path.'
Arise Alive is conceived jointly with Haus der Kunst in Munich and Vienna's museum of modern art, Mumok. The display has been slightly adapted for St Ives by Tate director Anne Barlow, who says she believes Lijn has been 'consistently ahead of her time. Over the past six decades, her work has had significant influence. This focus on her now feels very important.'
Lijn's art is easy to like, less so to define. Typically, it takes the form of sculpture or installation, but she has also created prints, performances and a libretto. It depicts cosmological phenomena, energy, light and vibration, sometimes drawing on myths and archetypes. Words are a recurring feature, as are futuristic materials. In the 1960s that meant various plastics; today, something like aerogel, a solid that is typically 98 per cent air and is used by Nasa to collect interstellar dust.
Lijn shows me some of the work she made with it during a Nasa-funded fellowship at the Space ­Sciences Laboratory in Berkeley, California, in 2005. 'Stardust' is ­hermetically sealed inside a vitrine, and breathtaking: a cluster of milky shards with blurry edges, which resembles glowing, frozen smoke.
'I broke it a lot at first,' she says. 'But they told me: everything fragments. It's important to every cosmic process, and so that became the piece.'
Nearby stands a twisting female form made of sheet mica frills – Lijn's husband of 55 years, ­Stephen Weiss, used to own a mica factory – and some Poemdrums, nested cylinders bearing words, the layers of which rotate at different speeds. They are descendants of the Poem Machines with which Lijn enraptured Paris in the 1960s: Letraset words on a motorised drum that in motion creates a pattern, 'pregnant with energy', as Lijn describes it.
Perhaps it makes sense that Lijn was drawn to make art that reflects on the forces of the cosmos. She came of age during a time of exhilarating technological and scientific advances, after all, not least the space race.
Born Liliane Segall in 1939 (she changed her name to avoid any confusion with the American pop artist George Segal), she grew up in New York, the elder child of Russian Jews who had fled Nazi Germany. Her father played the violin, her grandmother sang sad Russian songs; her mother 'did everything beautifully without any mistakes'. At home, conversation centred on literature and philosophy.
When she was 14, her family resettled in Switzerland. By 18, Lijn had left for Paris to study archaeology at the Sorbonne and art history at the Ecole du Louvre. She lasted six months. 'When I told my father I was quitting to be an artist, he said, 'Well, I should have known you would do that.''
Lijn devised her own programme of learning: long hours in museums, drawing classes with the painter and filmmaker Robert Lapoujade, evenings at the Blue Note jazz club. Of greatest importance, however, was an introduction to the surrealist cafés, via the painter Manina, the mother of a school friend.
Here, Lijn met the artists Max Ernst, Roberto Matta and Meret Oppenheim, the poet Joyce Mansour, and the grandaddy of surrealism himself, André Breton. 'He was very formal, kiss your hand, that sort of thing,' says Lijn. 'There was still a glamour attached to the group and it felt exciting to go – I had read practically everything Breton wrote – but surrealism was disintegrating. Breton had excommunicated so many. It was kind of sad, and when they just gossiped about other people, even boring. It could also be tough for women, but the thing is that I wasn't shy and I was pretty, and that helped.'
The Greek artist Takis, a former pupil of the sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi, who experimented with kinetic pieces that used magnets, was the first to take Lijn's work seriously. They married in 1961 (she taught herself Greek by reading Aristophanes with a dictionary) and had a son, Thanos, the following year. She also has a son, Mischa, and a daughter, Sheba, with Weiss.
Between 1961 and 1963, Lijn and Takis lived in New York City. She shares fragments of her time there with me: meeting Franz Kline –'but abstract expressionism was over, more or less; those artists were old heroes' – and buying so much Perspex from a store in Lower Manhattan that the owner cleared his second floor for her experiments.
On returning to Paris, Lijn began devouring scientific journals. 'I thought that with physics, which is about the very small, and astronomy, which is about the very large, I would somehow get an understanding of reality,' she tells me. 'I wanted to understand what reality was beyond the image of it, to be illuminated, in the ­Buddhist sense. That, to me, is the most important function of art.'
In 1963, she held her first solo exhibition. The great photog­rapher Man Ray visited, and was so impressed by her Poem Machines that he invited her to his studio. He was 'warm and friendly', but 'very intense'. The Beat author William S Burroughs was similarly taken, and she became a regular at the Beat Hotel. 'He wanted to make his text move off the page, and I was very excited about that. But Takis said, 'You don't want to do that', and he had a very persuasive way.'
The lack of other female artists disturbed her – 'I'd go to exhibitions and look for them' – but she found a mentor in Caresse Crosby, patron to Salvador Dalí and Ernest Hemingway. Peggy Guggenheim was another champion and friend. Lijn performed at the famed collector's 61st birthday party in Venice.
In 1966, Lijn moved to London, where she had been invited to exhibit at Signals, a new gallery dedicated to kinetic art. She drove all the way from Athens, but found Signals had shut, having lost its funding after the management criticised the Vietnam War.
John Dunbar, the 22-year-old owner of the Indica Gallery (married at the time to the crown princess of Swinging London, Marianne Faithfull) came to the rescue. He had taken on a few Signals artists and extended the offer to Lijn.
'I met Liliane through Takis,' Dunbar tells me, 'but I chose the work I showed on the basis of impulse.' He still has 8mm footage of her 1967 exhibition, which debuted the kinetic work Liquid Reflections (1966-68). Its Perspex spheres mimic planetary forces by rolling across a hollow acrylic disc of condensed liquid.
Lijn had landed on her feet: Indica was the hippest gallery in London at the time. Dunbar's co-founders were the author Barry Miles and the pop star Pete Asher (brother of Jane). Paul McCartney helped paint the walls and put up shelves, and Dunbar had recently staged Yoko Ono's first London show. Lijn recalls a dinner at which she 'chatted peace and love' with McCartney. 'He said he didn't understand why people couldn't love each other.'
Exhibitions at the Hanover Gallery in 1970 and the Serpentine in 1976 kept Lijn in London. 'I was very successful here, it was a good anchor,' she says. 'And, of course, I met Stephen.'
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Tate St Ives (@tatestives)
In her office, with its egg-yolk-yellow floor, Lijn pulls out a box of old journals and leaves me to leaf through them. The pages are a mix of scrawled impressions, self-admonishments and fierce resolutions. 'I'm determined, that's just a character trait,' she says. She makes coffee and we sit at a table she designed herself, a circle of glass set on striped ceramic cones.
Cones have appeared in her work since the mid-1960s. She calls them 'koans', after the puzzles used in Buddhist meditation, and explains that 'all energy is emitted in a ­conical form'. Her conversation is filled with things like this – talk of ­quasars and whether the universe is mathematical, and we are mathematical beings, and that is the way we understand the cosmos.
I ask Lijn how this stash of prodigious scientific knowledge sits with her interest in myth and spirit­uality. 'Oh, quite nicely,' she replies. 'I think what many scientists think: that there are a lot of things we don't know or understand, and one of those things is con­sciousness. The unconscious is the wellspring, where all the most important discoveries are made, in science and art, and in poetry and music.'
It is her view that eventually science will understand 'the entanglement of our mind with the universe. If we're not all blown to smithereens by some idiot, that is.' She smiles. 'I hope I have a few more years.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Sun

an hour ago

• The Sun

Maya Jama makes embarrassing blunder live on Love Island: Aftersun after suffering wardrobe malfunction

MAYA Jama made multiple blunders live on the most recent episode of Love Island: Aftersun. The fan-favourite presenter took to the airwaves to present the ITV2 spin-off show. 5 5 5 As host of Love Island, Maya Jama, 30, also fronts the accompanying studio show. She was chatting to former contestant Amy Hart, influence Ash Holme and superfan Sam Thompson about the drama. However, she suffered from a wardrobe malfunction after getting a little too excited. Maya flaunted her slim figure in a skin tight backless off the shoulder dress as her hair was styled into subtle waves. However, one of her shell earrings fell out of her earlobe, which seemed to have left her scrambling. She attempted to move the conversation to a new set of islanders as she declared" "Onto Helena and Harry now." But turning away from the panel, she gasped: "Oops, lost an earring". The director was forced to cut to a wide shot of the studio instead of the usual closeup as she tried to find the accessory on the sofa. Later the presenter made a second blunder when she seemed to mispronounce the name of one of the contestants. Malisha Jordan was previously dumped by bombshell Harrison Solomon on the long-running dating show. Maya Jama's boyfriend Ruben Dias flies out to Love Island to take her on romantic date When referring to her eviction, Maya Jama accidently referred to the star as one of the contestants who was still in the villa. During that introduction to the segment, instead of saying the correct name Malisha, she accidentally called her Alima. Before Malisha was welcomed into the studio, Maya enthusiastically said: "Let's welcome our bombshell, queen Alima ... Malisha!" The star waved her arms up in the air in frustration after she immediately corrected the slip up. Some fans of Love Island were left somewhat confused as they took to social media after the blunder. One fan jokingly remarked: "Not Maya evicting Alima ?" 5 5

BreakingNews.ie

2 hours ago

• BreakingNews.ie

Kelsey Parker announces her baby has died

Podcast host Kelsey Parker has announced that her baby has died. Parker revealed she was expecting her third child in January, and on Sunday, shared an Instagram post with the news that her son was 'born sleeping'. Advertisement She lost her husband, The Wanted star Tom Parker, in 2022 after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, and the baby was her first with her new partner Will Lindsay. Parker, who is mother to Aurelia, five, and Bodhi, four, with the late singer, shared a poem on Instagram about the boy she was expecting, whom she and Lindsay had named Phoenix. 'For Phoenix, Born Sleeping, Forever Loved,' the poem began, with a caption: 'Phoenix Parker-Lindsay, you will forever be loved.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kelsey Parker (@being_kelsey) After sharing the post, Parker also put up an Instagram story which read: 'Before I receive an influx of lovely messages and heart-felt well wishes, I want to just say that I truly appreciate everything you are all going to say and share. Advertisement 'But with the news being so raw, I would really like to ensure that we as a family are given space and time to process this devastating and earth-shattering news. 'I love you all and thank you for your understanding and space. 'Love always, Kelsey, Will and The Parker Family.' Parker has previously spoken candidly about how trolls have made her feel guilty for having a new partner. Advertisement She said in March: 'I'm always going to have guilt but what's so hard is that Tom's not here any more, so what do people want me to do? 'Our house was full of so much sadness but now it's full of happiness, the kids deserve that more than anything.' Following her husband's death, Parker has raised money for a brain tumour charity by organising annual charity football matches in his memory. The 34-year-old hosts a podcast with model Georgia Jones called Mum's the Word! where the pair share parenting advice with celebrity guests. Advertisement

Daily Mail​

3 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Romeo Beckham's ex Kim Turnbull speaks out on rumours and lies after denying she ever dated Brooklyn: 'It's tough when people are saying things that don't align with your character and your values'

Kim Turnbull has spoken out on her 'tough' experience with fame after splitting from Romeo Beckham and hitting back at rumours that she dated his brother Brooklyn. The brunette beauty, who only recently split from Romeo, 22, shot down accusations that she was romantically involved with Brooklyn, 26 in a statement posted to her Instagram account, explaining: 'I will not continue to receive harassment or be embarrassed on the basis of lies, to fit a certain narrative. 'I have never been romantically involved in ANY capacity at ANY point with the person in question. Soon after Romeo shared a cryptic post about 'spreading unnecessary lies'. And now in a new interview with The Sunday Times Style Magazine, the DJ and model has opened up about how she deals with the limelight and juggling rumours about herself. She said: 'There are situations that you find yourself in that present you with new aspects, but at the same time I think it has always been something that I've been around and seen, so I just take it day by day and try to focus on the positives. 'Sometimes it's difficult to block things out because a lot of the time there are things said that are not necessarily true or necessarily positive, and your instinctive reaction is to want to be like, no, that's not true! 'But I think what I've learnt, at this point in life, is to try and take it with a pinch of salt.' Kim continued: 'It's definitely tough, whatever it is, when people are saying things about you that aren't necessarily true and, most importantly in my opinion, don't align with your character and your values. 'You want to turn around and reply to every comment and have your say in it, but at the end of the day you just can't.' Kim had been at the centre of the Beckham family fallout, after Brooklyn's wife Nicola Peltz, 30, reportedly claimed that she felt uncomfortable around her. Things came to a head when Brooklyn and Nicola were no shows at any of David's 50th birthday celebrations last month, with The Mail revealing that Kim has been made the 'scapegoat' in the feud. Brooklyn and his wife Nicola snubbed the football legend David's five celebrations to mark his milestone birthday, including celebrations in Miami, London, Paris the Cotswolds and a boys fishing trip to Scotland. He also failed to acknowledge his dad for Father's Day, despite David and Victoria publicly reaching out to their son. Earlier this month the Mail exclusively revealed Kim and Romeo had split after seven months together. Sources said how the pair's relationship had 'fizzled out' and their parting had 'nothing to do' with Nicola Peltz. A pal said: 'Romeo and Kim are both young and they had a lovely time together but at that age things don't always last forever and they decided to split up. 'They have been friendly since and have even been at the same venues. It's a huge shame, particularly as David and Victoria really adored her and thought she made Romeo happy but it wasn't to be. 'It happened a couple of weeks ago and relations have remained friendly between them.' Kim, is the well-heeled granddaughter of renowned post-war sculptor and painter William Turnbull, while her father Alex Turnbull and uncle Johnny were part of the post-punk band 23 Skidoo, formed in 1979. She dated Madonna and Guy Ritchie's son Rocco, and through that connection was part of a tightknit friendship group in 2016 which included Brooklyn. Kim and Brooklyn were undeniably close for a brief period – as photographs of them together at the time show - but suggestions that they were ever an item are wide of the mark. That Kim has now been 'thrown to the wolves' as the reason behind the family row is 'deeply upsetting' to Brooklyn's parents and brothers. US website TMZ wrote at the time: 'Sources say Brooklyn and Nicola were told to show up to the main celebrations or they wouldn't get a chance to see the family... leaving the two saddened because they simply won't be around Brooklyn's brother Romeo and his girlfriend, Kim Turnbull.'