Yaacov Agam
Yaacov Agam is an Israeli artist best known for his pioneering of Kinetic Art. By 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 Rish-le-Zion, 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.
What is an Agamograph?
An agamograph is a series of images that change at different angles. This work is named after the Israeli sculptor, Yaacov Agam who was born in 1928 and still living today (2017). This artist is known for his optical and kinetic art. To create his agamographs he used “lenticular printing.”
What is “lenticular printing?”
Lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses (a technology that is also used for 3D displays) are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles.
Close-up of the surface of a lenticular print.
Agamograph in action.
How to make an agamograph.
OUR Project
This project can be completed with any two images, as long as they are cropped or trimmed to EXACTLY the same size before starting. They MUST be square, and it is simpler to plan if you can keep the measurements manageable by maintaining consistency.
Project Objectives:
Use TWO designs or images that are different, but but have common elements or can be linked by an idea. (Creating, Connecting)
Use a ruler to layout each image into strips, 1” wide, and label each of the identically sides strips from RIGHT to LEFT. (Creating, Presenting/Producing)
Cut each image into IDENTICAL vertical strips (1” wide). (Creating, Producing/Presenting)
Assemble the AGAMOGRAPH artwork to produce a piece of KINETIC ART using Israeli artist Yaakov Agam as a reference and inspiration. (Creating, Producing/Presenting, Connecting)
Be productive and work independently without undue oversight. (21st Century - Employ-ability)
Student Examples
