Yaacov Agam: multicolored 2013

Yaacov-Agam

Bright, colourful and fun, that’s how we want 2013 to be, don’t we? That made me think of Yaacov Agam‘s fountain that I saw last year in Tel Aviv. My friend Ori Ben-Zvi dropped me off at the Dizengoff Square one evening, I sat down on a bench and looked at the kinetic sculpture fountain placed in the middle of the square in 1986, for a long time. Note: Willy Wonka needs this fountain in his factory.

Fountain-by-Yaacov-Agam-by-night

‘Water and Fire’ is the name of the awesome landmark. More than 900 painted sheet metal triangles make up Agam’s style of abstract, colorful and kinetic art. Occasionally jets of water shoot upward from the rings and music accompanies the whole display in a 20 minute show that begins to play at the beginning of each hour. Starting daily at 11 am.

Yaacov-Agam-at-Dizengoff-Square

I guess I was lucky, because it took almost one year to refurbish the piece of public Art and was finally done in spring 2012. I visited Israel in autumn. Apparently Agam himself complained about the state of the fountain during a visit in his homeland. Fortunately the government had 2 million over to handle the job.

Fountain-by-Yaacov-Agam

My friends’s from Okolo were also fond of the fountain. See here.

Yaacov-Agam-building-tel-aviv

Down by the sea of Tel Aviv I found another work by Yaacov Agam. It’s the Dan Hotel with a rainbow-coloured facade. In a city with post modernist structures that is also called ‘The White City’, Agam is surely an aesthetic exception in the scene.

unknown-artist-tel-aviv

I am not familiar with this work, but I photographed it not far away from the square and I think it goes well with the theme. Let’s hope things will look more colourful for the Israeli’s in 2013 too!

Fire-and-Water-by-Yaacov-Agam

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