Agam, Again
A familiar sculpture finds new life amid the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
BY Mary Ann Prior | PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jeff Kearney
HOW AND WHAT exactly do we see? At ninety-four years old, Yaacov Agam has been exploring lenticular effects and experimenting with movement and transformation for decades. Now, one of his most familiar works in the United States is receiving renewed attention with a move to Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.
Agam’s interest in visual phenomena began in childhood in the desert environment surrounding his home, Rishon LeZion, Israel—about ten miles south of Tel Aviv. He recalls being held spellbound watching the sand form ever-changing patterns as the wind blew across the vast arid landscape. In his youth, he attended the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem (now Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design) and, secondly, the Kunstgewerbeschule, Zurich (now University of the Arts), followed by further study in Paris.
Quickly gaining international recognition, Agam cemented his reputation with museum shows and public commissions, at such venues as the Guggenheim and Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Israel Museum, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and, since 2018, his namesake, the Yaacov Agam Museum of Art (YAMA) in Rishon LeZion.
Agam’s work also decorates the Élysée Palace and the White House as well as outdoor spaces in Japan, Brazil, and other prestigious sites in France and the United States. Perhaps the best-known of these is in New York, the enormous Hanukkah menorah (at Fifth Avenue and West 59th Street). It is seriously monumental, standing thirty-two feet tall and weighing 4,000 pounds.
Agam’s newest placement in Green Mountain Falls sits amid scenic mountain vistas encompassing forests, lakes, creeks, and log cabins. Communication X-9 (1983) was transplanted in May from its urban setting in Chicago to this idyllic town. A new setting for any artwork heralds a review of its visual qualities, which are often rendered completely different by a fresh environment.
The multi-colored, geometrically adorned sculpture was unveiled at the 2022 Green Box Arts Festival and will bring great pleasure to a multi-generational audience. Education, particularly of children, is at the heart of Agam’s philosophy and philanthropy—aligning with Green Box’s mission to provide high-level educational experiences for all ages in an unexpected location.