In the s, he gradually discovered certain contemporary composers in particular La Monte Young, at festivals and on the radio and integrated sound into his first photographic pieces in He then started getting more involved in acoustic performances that he created in very different contexts, outside in the desert, in trees, on water, on facades of buildings, on window panes, etc.
Rolf Julius' practice was based on a double approach, at the boundaries of visual art and musical creation. As a sculptor, Rolf Julius was also a fully-fledged musician, creating electro-acoustic compositions, giving concerts and performances where improvisation often played an important part. In the early s, Rolf Julius had already laid the foundations for a body of work in which acoustic space was the priority, constantly looking to create a relationship with the space of the world, and nature.
The years marked a significant moment in the artist's life. He moved to New York, where he met most of the important artists and composers involved with the experimental avant-garde, namely John Cage, but also Takehisa Kosugi.
His work, on returning to Europe, found a new audience. But it was in Japan that his work would be swiftly recognised and given an enthusiastic welcome: the role of void in the artist's work was akin to this culture. His practice is close to minimal art, insofar that the materials themselves have a meaning; Rolf Julius explained that a piece of iron and a piece of music represented the same thing for him.
With my music, I create an illustrated space. Images and music are equal. They come in contact with the mind of the viewer and the listener and inside, something new comes of it. Music is looked at. Pigments tremble, sand undulates, paper quivers, water shivers.
