Yaacov Agam, the son of a celebrated rabbi of legendary piety, was interested in the spiritual possibilities of art from the very start of his career. The movable parts applied to the background carton of this work are not just a visual device: they question the very nature of the artist-observer relationship in a manner which was to arouse the interest of major surrealists, who were amongst his most keen supporters. At this time Agam described his vision as follows: