Op Art

Op ArtOptical Art

Bridget Riley, Movement in Squares, tempura on hard board, 1961*

Op ArtOptical art is a method of painting concerning the

interaction between illusion and picture plane, between understanding and seeing."[2] Op art works are abstract, with many of the better known pieces made in only black and white. When the viewer looks at them, the impression is given of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibration, patterns, or alternatively, of swelling or warping.

Origin of the term Op ArtThe term first appeared in print in Time magazine in October 1964 in response to Julian Stanczak's show of Optical Paintings at the Martha Jackson gallery.

Julian Stanczak, African Village, acrylic on board, 1953

Julian Stanczak, Passing Contour, acrylic on board, 1962

Julian Stanczak, Rain and Reflection, acrylic on board, 1962

Victor Vasarely, Illusion, enamel and steel, 2005

Frank Stella, The Marriage of Reason and Squalor II, enamel on canvas, 1959

Op Art’s originsOp Art grew out of the minimalist movement which grew out of the Bauhaus movement.

Bauhaus is an architectural movement concerned with pure form and mathematic purity.

Federal Plaza in Chicago, buildings by Mies van der Rohe, scultpure by Alexander Calder

Landscapes of the mind and optical illusion

M.C. Escher, Relativity, pencil on paper, 1953