Yaacov Agam
born Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel, 1928
Yaacov Agam is an Israeli artist best known for his pioneering of Kinetic Art. Employing light and sound to provide a unique sensorial experience for the viewer, Agam melded formalism and mysticism. His lenticular prints, or Agamographs, made illusory images appear depending on the audience’s viewpoint. “My intention was to create a work of art which would transcend the visible, which cannot be perceived except in stages, with the understanding that it is a partial revelation and not the perpetuation of the existing,” he explained of his work. “My aim is to show what can be seen within the limits of possibility which exists in the midst of coming into being.” Born Yaacov Gipstein on May 11, 1928 in Rishon LeTsiyon, Palestine (now Israel), Agam studied in Jerusalem, Zürich, and Paris. While attending Zürich’s Kunstgewerbe Schule, Agam studied under the renowned color theorist Johannes Itten, before moving to Paris in 1951. Agam has gone on to become the subject of retrospectives at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris in 1972, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1980. The artist currently lives and works in Paris, France. His works are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, among others.
Person TypeIndividual
Terms
- Rishon LeZiyyon
born Menziken, Switzerland, 1918; died Seattle, Washington, 2004
born Zurich, Switzerland, 1809; died Barbizon, France, 1893
born Santander, Spain, 1893; died Madrid, Spain, 1978
born Bordeaux, France, 1822; died Fontainebleau, France, 1899
born Halifax, Canada, 1873; died Miami Beach, Florida, 1939
born Westmoreland County, Virginia, 1868; died Blackstone, Virginia, 1964
born Centerville, Wisconsin, 1890; died Basel, Switzerland, 1976
born Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1921; died Zurich, Switzerland, 2006
born Paris, France, 1813; died Paris, France, 1894
born Brooklyn, New York, 1877; died White Plains, New York, 1949
born San Mateo, California, 1923; died Santa Monica, California, 1994