The deepest layer of Agam’s philosophy, linking his artistic practice back to the ancient Hebrew concept of reality, time, and the divine.
• Hebraic vs. Judaic Consciousness: Agam’s ambition is to represent the concept of reality of ancient Hebraism in visual, plastic form, explicitly stating he does not use the term “Judaism”.
◦ Hebraic consciousness is characterized as dynamic, vigorous, multiform, time-centered, and promoting constant change. This contrasts with the static or cyclical views of reality.
• Art as Visual Prayer: Agam asserts that his works are, essentially, a “visual prayer,” as he does not pray with words.
Ya’akov Agam’s art is a living expression of Hebraic consciousness, capturing:
The fluidity and process of time and spiritual becoming
The multiplicity of meaning and paradox in Hebrew thought
The centrality of divine light and presence
The interactive nature of faith and interpretation
The deep connection to Jewish identity and communal restoration
His kinetic and optical works invite viewers into a relational experience, reflecting the Hebraic vision of a world alive with divine movement, mystery, and covenant.
A proponent of Hebraic Consciousness
Sayako Aragaki
Sayako Aragaki, in her “Agam Beyond the Visible”, relates Agam’s self-description of his efforts as being Hebraic.
The motive behind Agam’s work as a whole is his ambition to represent in a visual, plastic form the concept of reality of ancient Hebraism. (We must note that he does not use the term “Judaism,” but rather ‘ancient Hebraism.”
For the concept of the God of the ancient Hebrews and their perception of reality forms the basis for Agam’s work.
Hebraic concept of God pp 239 or text 163
Hebraism itself is different from all other civilizations and religions in its realization that reality takes place in the fourth dimension…Kabbalah distinguishes Hebraism from many other cultures which have expressed “what already existed in the past” with their idols and statues, thus “freezing time forever” in their paintings and sculptures / in their graven images. (165)
They did not attempt to define time or fix it in images. For them it was out of the question to express visually “what is the Almighty” or “what is reality” because these are invisible and constantly changing. “ Thus does Agam explain the ancient Hebrew prohibition against graven images.
Agam defines a graven image as a “static image.” “There is no life in a static image, which Judaism despises and rejects (as a kind of idol), never accepting a graven image even as form to represent reality. It does not represent reality, because the most remarkable characteristic of reality is that it is always becoming.” Argues Agam. (P.164)
Popper
It is impossible to divorce the creative works of Agam from his Hebraic origins and from the rich field of spiritual and intellectual principles to which he has had access by virtue of his birth. He has written that the “driving force” of his work is the attempt to “give plastic and artistic expression to the ancient Hebrew concept of reality.” In his view, this concept of reality, which is unique to Hebraism, has never yet found an adequate artistic expression. (Agam, Popper, p.23
“Yet there is still the Hebraic civilization, within which I have been nourished. In its terms, man comes from the sand and returns to it. There is no belief in eternity. The Hebrew believes in life, but he also believes that life is irreversible. In ancient Egypt, they made mummies; they kept everything as if it were eternal. In Hebrew Civilization, the first stage in burial (which had to take place on the day of death) was always to put earth on the body as an expression of a final end. That is taking account of the form of reality. “ Popper, p.25