{"id":93315,"date":"2026-07-17T18:26:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=93315"},"modified":"2026-07-19T20:22:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T01:22:39","slug":"agam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/agam\/","title":{"rendered":"Agam"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER<\/p>\n

This week we mark the Shloshim \u2013 we conclude the initial 30-day period of mourning \u2013 for Israeli artist and sculptor Yaacov Agam, who died on June 21 at the age of 98. Agam is widely considered the father of kinetic art \u2013 creations which employ movement, or that offer dramatically different images as the viewer changes position.<\/p>\n

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Among Agam\u2019s best known pieces are Double Metamorphosis III<\/em> (1965); fountains in Paris and Tel Aviv\u2019s Dizengoff Square; and Faith \u2013 Visual Pray<\/em>, presented to Pope Francis and including both Jewish and Christian religious symbols. Agam also created what the Guinness Book of World Records recognized as \u201cthe world\u2019s largest Chanukah Menorah.\u201d Fully 32 feet tall and weighing in at 4,000 pounds, Agam\u2019s functional creation was displayed on Manhattan\u2019s Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n

Agam was a recipient of the prestigious Israel Prize, as well as UNESCO\u2019s Jan Amos Comenius Medal, for developing a system of early childhood visual education known as the \u201cAgam Method.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgam\u201d is Hebrew for \u201clake.\u201d Rishon L\u2019Tzion\u2019s Yaacov Agam Museum of Art is known by its acronym: YAMA, meaning \u201cthe ocean.\u201d True art moves us; it expands our horizons exponentially.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the editor of \u201cMasorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.\u201d The latest edition of Masorti was published online for the winter of 2025-26. A subscription is $18 per annum.<\/em><\/p>\n

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