*1925, GR
Signal, 1974-1980
500 × 130 × 130 cm
Bronze and steel
MAMCO collection (previously AMAM collection), Mr. Georges Embiricos donation

This large sculpture by the Greek artist Takis was donated to AMAM in 1983 and transmitted to MAMCO’s collection when the museum opened in 1994. Its height nevertheless excludes its display in the museum’s spaces. The opportunity to present it in the park and, after the Biennale, to find it an appropriate public location attests to the wish to develop a concerted cultural politics in Geneva. Takis chose to explore in his work the energy of magnetic fields. Like his colleagues of Nouveau Réalisme, he integrates movement, light, music, and magnets in his sculptures. Always experimenting, Takis combines references to archaic Greek sculpture and technological objects. The work presented here, from the “Signals” series, perfectly illustrates this merging of natural forces and technology, as well as classic form and modernity.