From 1960 through 1968, a group of eleven opto-kinetic artists formed a collective in Paris.
While the initial focus of the GRAV artists stemmed from experimenting with visual perception, the group’s works expanded to examine notions of spectator participation. The active involvement of the public became evident with art produced by Horacio Garcia Rossi, Julio Le Parc, François Morellet, Francisco Sobrino and Joël Stein Yvaral among others.
The artists outline not only their reason to form a collective group, but also explain their deviation from the traditional models of showing in gallery spaces: “We were keen to restore a certain conception of the public that had been devalued by obscurantist art criticism, which considered that art only addresses the elite. To do this we planned to escape from the traditional gallery circuit, but to stay in touch with the public as closely as possible so as to change the existing situation” (248).
Aupetitallot, Yves. Grav, Groupe De Recherche D’art Visuel, 1960-1968: Stratégies De Participation: Horacio Garcia Rossi, Julio Le Parc, François Morellet, Francisco Sobrino, Joël Stein Yvaral, Magasin-Centre D’art Contemporain De Grenoble. Grenoble: Le Magasin, 1998. Print.
Featured image from video of the GRAV exhibit at the Biennale de Paris in 1963: https://youtu.be/C3PH-u9Zsgo