Kinetisches Objekt mit 7 horizontalen Streifen

Material

Stripes of metal or wood, motor; 170 x 170 cm

Dating

1978

About the artist

Gerhard Von Graevenitz first studied economics in Frankfurt am Main. After being injured in an accident and hospitalised for several months he decided to change his subject and started to study at the academy of arts in Munich. He socialised with a number of artists, among them Johannes Itten, Alexander Calder and Josef Albers and met artists of his generation – Jean Tinguely, Yves Klein, Daniel Spoerri – who were interested in questions of kinetics.
In 1962 he cofounded the artist group ‘Nouvelle Tendence’, whose art ended up being called ‘Op Art’ after it was shown at an American exhibition. With his kinetic objects von Graevenitz illustrates the correlation of structure, movement, contingency and order. He proceeded from white reliefs to dynamic objects, which consist of reflecting elements or simple rotating parts driven by a motor, thereby producing a network of movement.
Von Graevenitz worked as art mediator, organiser and lecturer. He founded the ‘Nota’ journal, opened a gallery with the same name in Munich in 1960 and curated the Dutch Pavillon at the 38th Biennale in Venice. As a member of the ‘International Artists Forum’ he has reflected publicly on the responsibility of the artist in society.