The Agamograph Challenge

Intro to Art/ Applied & Advanced

Agamographs are compositions in which images change constantly. The images appear and disappear; the viewer never sees the whole picture at one time. Agam has advanced, renewed, revolutionized and expanded the graphic art form. The Agamograph enables the viewer to interact, explore and stretch his own view.

Before beginning this project, I would like to introduce you to the work of a contemporary artist Yaacov Agam, who is known for his "kinetic" works that involve movement and viewer participation. In 1953, Agam created his first “polyphonic paintings.” He used two or more different abstract designs on a zigzagged panel, so that the viewer would see one image when the work was viewed from one angle and an entirely different image when the work was viewed from another angle.

Your challenge is to draw or paint three separate realistic images that were related in some way. After completing them, they constructed a folded paper "frame" for the three works that contained repetitive "mountains" and "valleys" that were 1" wide and 1" tall.

1 About the Artist, Yaacov Agam- Biography: Born to an Orthodox Jewish family, Agam studied in , before moving to Zurich and then to Paris, where he still lives. Agams first solo exhibition was at the Galerie Graven in 1953, and in 1955 he established himself as one of the leading pioneers of at the Le Mouvement exhibition at the Galerie Denise Ren alongside Jesus Rafael Soto, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Pol Bury, and .

Born to an Orthodox Jewish family, Agam studied in Jerusalem, before moving to Zurich and then to Paris, where he still lives. Agams first solo exhibition was at the Galerie Graven in 1953, and in 1955 he established himself as one of the leading pioneers of kinetic art at the Le Mouvement exhibition at the Galerie Denise Ren alongside Jesus Rafael Soto, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Pol Bury, Alexander Calder and Jean Tinguely. One of the founders of the kinetic art movement, Agam has left an indelible imprint on the course of history in the 20th century with his creations of kinetic and constantly changing art. Agam is wholly dedicated to art in movement by integrating the fourth dimension of time as a factor in his art. His interactive works, monumental and fountains are installed all over the world in numerous museum collections including the and the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. He is also known for a type of print known as an Agamograph, which uses lenticular printing to present radically different images, depending on the angle from which it is viewed. Expanding the graphic arts beyond the limit of static images. Agamographs are compositions in which images change constantly. The images appear and disappear; the viewer never sees the whole picture at one time.

2