Yaacov Agam
Yaacov Agam was born in 1928 in Rishon LeZion, Israel. His father was a rabbi and a kabbalist. Agam went to school at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, before he moved to Switzerland in 1949, where he studied under Johannes Itten. Agam was also influenced by the painter and sculptor Max Bill. His first exhibition was in 1953 at the Galerie Graven. He exhibited three works in 1954 at the Salon des Realites. Agam's work is usually abstract, kinetic art, with movement. Agam has also studied architecture and created very abstract sculptures and buildings using his same style. One of Agam's most popular creations is the Hanukkah Menorah at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in New York City. It stands 32 feet high, gold colored, and was made out of 4,000 pounds of steel. It currently holds the Guinness record as the World's Largest Hanukkah Menorah.