Yaacov Agam’s unique spiritual origins and the direct influence of his religious upbringing on his later art and philosophy.

• Birth and Name: Born Yaakov Gipstein in 1928 in Rishon Lezion, Mandate Palestine. He later adopted his mother’s maiden name, Agam, to signify his departure and new identity.

• Rabbinic Father and Mystical Heritage: Agam’s father, Rabbi Yehoshua Gipstein, was an Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and a devotee of Jewish mystic lore and Kabbalistic studies. 

◦ Agam absorbed Jewish spiritual values and considers himself his father’s spiritual continuant in the study of these values. This heritage became central to his artistic philosophy throughout his career.

• The Struggle with the Graven Image: The religious commandment, specifically the Second Commandment(“Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image“), posed a challenge to his artistic aspirations. Agam saw this prohibition not as a restriction, but as a challenge and an inspiration to avoid static, fixed art.

• Early Education in Eretz Yisrael: His father initially refused to register him in a school because a religious one was unavailable, leading him to absorb learning at home. He later studied painting for about two years at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem.

• Ritual Objects and Judaica: Agam’s later work frequently includes elements tied to Jewish tradition, such as designs for a Hanukkah candelabrum, a mezuza, synagogue lamps, Torah covers, and an artistic interpretation of the Passover Haggadah.

Agam was born Yaakov Gipstein in Rishon Lezion, Mandate Palestine, in 1928, into an Orthodox family. This upbringing provided the core philosophical rationale for his entire artistic output.

1. The Second Commandment and the Rejection of Static Images: The most critical influence is the Jewish prohibition against creating “graven images” (“Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image”).

• Agam interprets this commandment as a philosophical challenge against static representation. He argues that a static image freezes time forever, which Judaism rejects because the Almighty and reality are invisible and constantly changing.

• He saw this “negative calling for a positive”. To comply with the spirit of the commandment while creating art, Agam became a pioneer of kinetic art, seeking a way to create art that would always change instead of being a permanent or “graven” creation.

• His art philosophy states that static art falls short because it freezes time; therefore, his work must represent life, which means representing change. His goal is to create art that “transcends [s] the visible” and is a “partial revelation and not the perpetuation of the existing”.

2. Kabbalah and the Concept of Constant Change: Agam’s father, Rabbi Yehoshua Gipstein, was devoted to Jewish religious learning, meditation, and fasting, and was a Kabbalist.

• Agam was deeply attracted to Jewish mystic lore and kabbalistic studies. He considers himself his spiritual continuation in devotion to these values.

• His nonrepresentational style is an integration of formalist art with Kabbalah.

• Kabbalah informs his central motif: the fourth dimension (time). The core Jewish concept of God (related to the root words of God’s Name, Mehaveh Ou Mithaveh) translates to “constant change“. This idea is central to his aesthetic, as his works are meant to reflect reality as a “constant being” that is irreducible to any single static appearance.

• Agam views the Hebraic concept of reality as dynamic, creative, and constantly evolving, seeing life as the opposite of static. His works are referred to as a “visual prayer“.

3. Symbolic and Iconographic Themes: Agam has remained deeply attached to his Jewish background, using it for inspiration in his abstract and ritual works.

• He incorporates symbolic elements such as the combined elements of fire, water, and sound, seen in the fountain in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square. He explained that the connection between fire and water in the fountain is an expression of Jewish mysticism, and the multi-colored scheme (like a rainbow) symbolizes mankind’s