(2 Jul 2019) LEAD IN:
Decades of pioneering kinetic art is on display at the Tate Modern in an exhibition tracing the work of Takis as he experimented with magnetic sculpture and sounds.
The artist also known as Panayiotis Vassilakis was born in 1925 in Athens and continues to inspire artists from musicians to poets in his convention defying work.
STORY-LINE:
Floating, vibrating and swaying sculptures fill the rooms at the Tate Modern in an exhibition of work by Panayiotis Vassilakis, better known as Takis.
His pioneering work spans decades - during which he diverged from the understanding of what sculpture was understood to be.
Co-curator Michael Wellen says: "As an artist I think he was looking for new ways to make sculpture beyond the bounds of what traditional sculpture might be. I think he grew up in Athens with exposure to ancient art and he wanted to make something that would seem timeless, but that would also break conventions."
Takis' unconventional ways inspired contemporaries, with his art being collected by the likes of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Allen Ginsberg.
In his work, he also experimented with sound, as in works he called "Musicals" or "Music of the Spheres" - where objects colliding, or brushing against each other create atmospheric soundscapes that fill the air across the exhibition rooms.
The tension between the elements of his sculptures are as much part of his work as the static and moving parts made of iron or wood or metal.
"Takis always speaks about the space in between objects, which I think is really fascinating. So it's not necessarily about the floating, it's not necessarily about the needle itself or the magnet. It's about that space in between that empty space. And I think that's a really beautiful idea that they're connected despite the fact that you can't see the link," says Assistant Curator Helen O' Malley.
As technical as it might seem, Takis' work is very much about connections between people and communication, says O' Malley
"Communication more generally speaking was a really important topic for him and he spoke a lot about communication between people, the invisible connections between people, as well as the invisible connections between objects."
"Takis" will open to the public on 3 July and run until 27 October 2019.
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6 июл 2019
