Takis
Takis (Τάκις, Panayiotis Vasilakis, Παναγιώτης Βασιλάκης, 29 October 1925 – 9 August 2019) was a self-taught Greek artist known for his kinetic sculptures. He exhibited in Europe and the United States and was especially popular in France. His works can be found in many public locations in and around Paris.
Takis moved to Paris in 1954. In 1955, influenced by the invention of radar and the technological landscape of the station at Calais, he constructed his first Signaux [Signals], soon turned kinetic and resembling radio antennas and serving in his street happenings. In 1958 he learnt about electromagnetism which became the basis of his oeuvre: kinetic and sound-generating electromagnetic sculptures. His works include the series Télémagnétiques (since 1959), Télépeintures (magnets hidden behind the flat fabric surface attract objects hung from nylon strings, since 1961), and Télélumières (the usual function of cathode tubes is reversed; blue light is emitted, since 1961).
In 1993, he founded the Research Centre for Art and Science in the Gerovouno area near Athens. His installation The Music of the Spheres (2004), comprised of kinetic and musical sculptures, is inspired by the Greek ancient belief that every planet emits its own sound frequency in the solar system, a fact that nowadays has been proved scientifically.
Publications[edit]
- Estafilades, Juilliard, 1961. Autobiography.
- Helena and Nicolas Calas, Takis: Monographies (Ecritures/figures), Paris: Galilee, 1984. Extract. (French)
Catalogues[edit]
- Magnetic Sculpture, New York: Howard Wise Gallery, 1967, [11] pp.
- Takis: Evidence of the Unseen, forew. Gyorgy Kepes, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1968, 33 pp, OL. With an essay by Wayne Andersen. Exh. held at Hayden Gallery, MIT, 15 Nov-8 Dec 1968, and Howard Wise Gallery, New York, 1-22 Feb 1969. Exh. photographs (Hayden). [3] [4]
- Takis: The Fourth Dimension, Antwerp: Axel Vervoordt Gallery, 2012. Exh. held 25 Oct-2 Dec 2012; The Menil Collection, Houston, 24 Jan-26 Jul 2015, (exh. guide).
- Takis, eds. Guy Brett and Michael Wellen, London: Tate, 2019. Exhibition. Exh. guide.
- Takis, Barcelona: MACBA, 2019, 126 pp. Texts by Guy Brett, Michael Wellen, Melissa Warak, Maïten Bouisset. Exhibition. Publisher. (Spanish)
- Takis, ed. Honey Luard, London: White Cube, 2023, 128 pp. Texts by Toby Kamps and Pavel Pyś. Publisher. Exhibition.
Interviews[edit]
- "Artist Takis – ‘I Know How to Use Energy’", TateShots, London: Tate, 2019, 6 min. Video.
Literature[edit]
- Erin Stephenson, Kari Dodson, "Takis and the Fourth Dimension", in Keep It Moving? Conserving Kinetic Art, eds. Rachel Rivenc and Reinhard Bek, Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute, 2018.
