Yaacov Agam approaches painting and sculpture with the belief that art is meant to be enjoyed through multiple senses. Raised as an Orthodox Jew, Agam’s father, a rabbi, discouraged his artistic pursuits. To combine his desires to make art and to respect the biblical prohibition against figural imagery, Agam began creating nonrepresentational compositions as a means to inspire spiritual reflection. This painting is one of a number of tactile constructions the artist created to vibrate, move, or make sound when touched. Loud Tactile Painting features thirty-five long, slender springs attached to rattle-like drums made of metal that produce a subtle variety of tones and a pattern of bobbing shadows when activated.

Label from Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s, June 30–December 30, 2018