Takis

Champs magntiques / Magnetic FieldsPalais de Tokyo

Feb 18 May 17, 2015

Art review of Takis: Magneti c Fiel ds at the Palai s de Tokyo published at Hyperall ergic:hyperal lergi c.com/ 199722/the-irresist ible-pull- of-takiss-m agnetic-fields/

Takis at Takis Foundation (Kete) Archive KETE-2005, photo by Marilena Stafilidou

The technologically mediated subjectivity that is at the hub of the kinetic art of Takis is

founded on the reality of magnetic fields in the universe. Thus fittingly, the technically

daring retrospective Magnetic Fields pulls us much closer to this European contemporary

of Yves Klein and Lucio Fontana. Like they, Takis (also something of a

seer/philosopher/priest/magician/poet) explores the invisible but real. The deep work of

his art is to surpass what is obvious in the interests of an interaction with nonhuman

agency.

Takis, a key post-war figure known for exploring magnetic field energy, was one of the

avant-garde artists of the 60s that was most able to amalgamate art and science, paving

the way for all sorts of artistic directions in the ensuing decades, right up to our electro

days (electromagnetism belongs to all bodies for all time). Besides this retrospective at

the Palais de Tokyo, the 90 years old artist is also now exhibiting at the Menil Collection

in Houston, the first survey of his work by a U.S. museum. In Athens, the Takis

Foundation (Kete) research center for art and science permanently exhibits his work. As I

swiftly saw in the Alfred Pacquement currated Magnetic Fields, Takis attempts to

encapsulate cosmic forces by means of integrating magnets, light and sound vibrations

within artistic practice. Definitely, invisible wave magnetic fields (the force that allows

magnets to hold metallic materials in suspension) constituted Takis core visual language.

Born 1925 in Athens, art student of Yannis Tsarouchis, Takis relocated to Paris during

the 1950s, becoming a philosopher of science as inspired by pre-Socratic philosophy,

Hippocratic medicine, and Ancient Egypt. His sculptural practice was then influenced by

Alberto Giacometti (and less so by Joan Mir and Alexander Calder), as well as by the

invention of radar and the general technological landscape, which at the time was very

much connected to mystifying ideas of techno-transcendence.

In 1955 Takis constructed his first group of abstract elongated Signaux sculptures,

made from taut iron rods. They look like antennae with weird bits at their tips. These

sculptures were motivated by a long wait at Calais for a train to Paris where Takis

became fascinated by the signaling mechanisms that controlled train traffic. Takis, who

had made wrought-iron figures of Cycladic inspiration in Athens, began furiously

producing these upraised, elongated vertical forms, now free of any anthropomorphic

characteristics. Once de-linked from human postures, their vibration collecting antennae-

like resemblance formed the symbolic basis of his career and it was an enjoyable reward

to see them grouped together like some kind of elaborate quivering UFO chorus line.

Soon, the rods became flexible, able to sway when touched; their tips mounted with long

horizontal pendulums, electronic pieces, radio transformers, shrapnel or brushes. Then

after, he began adding blinking lights to their tips, forming stop signs that constantly

switched on and off, possibly symbolizing resistance.

Exhibition view of Signal lumineuxs at Takis, Magnetic Fields, photo by Andr Morin. ADAGP, Paris 2015

Exhibition view of Takis, Magnetic Fields at the Palais de Tokyo, photo by Andr Morin. ADAGP, Paris 2015

Fascinated by radar, around 1958 Takis first used magnetic attraction, trying to capture

invisible forces and materialize electricity through the action of the magnet. In 1959 he

instigated this research in his Tlpeinture and Tlsculpture pieces, terms coined by

Alain Jouffroy. This research flourishes with his poised Mur magntique (Magnetic

Wall) monochrome paintings (paintings that use strong magnets behind monochrome

canvases to make metal objects hover above its surface) such as Mur magntique blanc

n8 (1961) and Mur magntique n9 (Rouge) (1961). These paintings exhibit a non-

dualistic understanding of nature-culture interaction by means of the magnets embedded

behind the painted surfaces that hold in graceful suspension groups of metallic objects

just off their surface. Each attached by a separate slim wire to the ceiling. Although

concealed, the magnets slightly obtrude upon the canvas surface, forming bumpy

swellings that hold the tethered magnetized objects suspended in space. This suspension

gives his art the impression of being part of a space age that defies gravity.

This innovative formal vocabulary is inseparable from the magnetic field energy that

underlies his entire oeuvre. Work that symbolizes that everything exposed to the earths

magnetism is recognized as charged. Thus his art is not a question of content versus form,

and/or form versus content, but of contemporary possibility and sensibility.

Mur magntique blanc n8 (1961) Acrylic paint on canvas, two magnets, copper wire and four painted metal cones

180 x 220 x 11 cm. Donation of Alexandre Iolas (1976) Inv. : AM 1976-1236 Photo : Centre Pompidou, MNAM-

CCI/Philippe Migeat/Dist. RMN-GP Adagp (Paris)

Mur magntique n9 (Rouge) (1961) 180 x 220 x 10 cm Don de l'artiste et de lAssociation des Amis du CNAC /

Artist and the Association des Amis du CNAC donation (1976) Paris, muse national dArt moderne, Centre Georges

Pompidou Photo : Centre Pompidou, MNAM- CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Droits rservs ADAGP (Paris)

Exhibition view of three Mur magntiques at Palais de Tokyo, photo by Andr Morin. ADAGP, Paris 2015

Exhibition view with LImpossible, un homme dans lespace photo documentation (left) and three Mur

magntiques (right), photo by Andr Morin. ADAGP, Paris 2015

With this work I could sense that the artist was attempting a spatial breakout from the

coming pull of globalized homogenization that is pop culture through the use of electro-

magnetism (electricity exerted from magnets). Indeed in an interview with Pierre

Restany, he said space is to free oneself from the earthly gravity. [As such] it is the

dream of the whole of humanity. This powerful idea of defying gravity can be traced

back to some of El Lissitzkys Prounen paintings and three-dimensional installations,

and to works of Lszl Moholy-Nagy such as where in his seminal book from 1947

Vision in Motion he is seen levitating a chisel with compressed air. This kind of levitating

(Christ-like) spatial obsession with gravity-free transcendence is, of course, also typical

of Yves Klein (as publicized with his Leap Into the Void (1960)) and with some similar

virtual concerns of Lucio Fontana.

Takis anti-nuclear war Magnetic Manifesto takes up this longing in conjunction with his

man in space body art happening LImpossible, un homme dans lespace (The

Impossible, A Man in Space) (1960). During which poet Sinclair Beiles recited one of his

poems, I am a Sculpture while being held suspended in the air by magnets. This occurred

at the Iris Clert gallery, where Takis was associating with New Realists Yves Klein and

Jean Tinguely. It is a curious historical fact that Man in Space was performed six

months prior to Yuri Gagarins great feat as the first human to journey into gravity free

space to complete the first earth orbit in April 1961.

Partial view of the Tllumires room at Takis, Magnetic Fields, photo by Andr Morin. ADAGP, Paris 2015

To accept that everything within the pull of gravity is more or less charged, is to

recognize that all bodies relate to one another - echoing Einsteins Theory of Relativity.

This recognition is supposedly suggested with his, much less interesting, Tllumire

series of work (1961) that use oddly anthropomorphic mercurial cathode devices such as

vacuum-sealed lamps where mercury serves as a conductor for electrodes. These hefty,

plump light bulbs give the impression they are eerie discards from an early electronics

laboratory. I found that this mediocre work typically lacked sensuality. But in one narrow

gallery of this work there is a rather sinister evocative of Franz Kafkas In The Penal

Colony. An accumulation of lamps from this Tllumires series have been placed just

above sculptures of torn apart human body parts (including female genetalia) that have

been placed on what looks like discarded printing machines or old electrical appliances.

This spooky sexist distopian representation is quite inferior to the abstract Signaux

sculptures that characterized the sculptors breakthrough work.

It is sometimes forgotten today that the 1960s were a time when many European artists

became interested in what was then was known as audience participation. Takis generally

animated his art through magnets, but in some cases the spectator was invited to become

an actor in the sculpture. Such was the case with the (now hands off) Antigravits

(1969) work, an electromagnetic game that invited audience participation by tossing iron

nails or filings onto a magnetized picture plane. It pales compared to the work of the

Groupe de Recherche dArt Visuel (GRAV) like Julio Le Parc, who had an outstanding

retrospective in 2013 also at the Palais de Tokyo.

Exhibition view of Antigravits (1969) (right) at Takis, Magnetic Fields, Palais de Tokyo, photo by Andr Morin

ADAGP, Paris 2015

Exhibition view of Wall of Musicales (2002) at Takis, Magnetic Fields, painted wood, electrical circuits,

electromagnet, cords, needles, photo by Andr Morin. ADAGP, Paris 2015

But besides the hovering Mur magntique works, the next best work in the show was

Wall of Musicales (2002), an elegant room of electromagnetic music producing wall

reliefs. This captivating work appears to be a kind of fruition of Erik Saties idea of

Furniture Music as revived by John Cage in his theory of minimal/experimental/avant-

garde music.

Takis idea was to dangle large stringed iron needles in front of magnetized stretched

musical wires and sound-amplifiers. The devices have a great simplicity and its visual

proposition is very straightforward. He installed an electromagnet behind each white

monochrome surface. That attracts and repels a dangling upholsterers needle, producing

a collective resonance that, I must say, is evocative of profane ritual. By vibrating alone

or together they generate a humming chtonic sound that gently filled the curved room

(and me) with a mild ecstasy akin to serenity. It left an indelible impression on me.

The other sound component in the show, in another gallery, was The Gong (1995) that

was struck every so often by a hammer-like thing that was also activated by an

electromagnet.

Exhibition view of The Gong (1995), photo by Andr Morin. ADAGP, Paris 2015

As magnets are about attraction, the representation of human sexual attraction seem a

natural subject for Takis and he tackled it very successfully with his titillating erotically

charged sculptures from the mid-1970s. Like with the Mur magntique pieces, floating

metallic elements dazzling hover just off the surface of seductive naked human figures,

attracted by magnets towards different parts of the body. The most compelling of these

metal figures was the rapaciously brazen Sebastian (1974). He has an impressively

extended erection that compliments the feeling of pull that makes up the magnetic field.

Sebastian (1974) bronze, magnets and wires, painted iron base. 139cm x 70cm x 50 cm, Takis Foundation (Kete)

Takis/Adagp (Paris)/Photo Hlias Nak, 2014

The fourth dimension, according to Takis, is one of magnetic energy and transmission

that interacts with objects. Through the art objects of Takis, I was certainly reminded that

the earths attractive field is an immense magnet that envelopes us all, and that his

impressive art is a way of conjuring up invisible reality suited to the polycentric structure

of contemporary power.

Joseph Nechvatal