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Artists in 60 Seconds: Yaacov Agam

By Shelley Esaak, About.com

Movement, Style, School or Type of Art:

Best known for Op Art, earlier works were of a Kinetic nature.

Date and Place of Birth:

May 11, 1928, Rishon-le-Zion, Israel (was Palestine)

Life:

Yaacov Agam decided, in the 1950s, that art could be more than a spectator sport. He created various "tactile paintings," meant to be handled, that added to sight the elements of touch and sound - and produced a unique user experience each time. Later works are purely visual - with a twist. His Op-ish grids full of colorful gradients, given the moniker "Agamographs," seem to change with every movement of the viewer's head. Agam is credited with being a founder of the Kinetic movement.

Important Works:

  • Transformable Relief, 1953
  • Double Metamorphosis II, 1965
  • Message of Peace, 1988

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