Love it or loathe it (love it over here), Op Art is undeniably clever. Short for Optical Art, Op Art is defined as the art that appears to move when we look at it, despite it being completely still. It uses a form of optical illusion & is usually abstract. Sometimes however, there are pictures hidden within the overall image. Their effect is sometimes queasy or pulsing or flashing. Other times, they seem to bulge or retreat.
The wider idea of optical illusions is often about trickery & fun & even very young people can access them. Children frequently like them & therein perhaps lies the sniffy attitude that some have towards the genre of Op Art. That said, its roots in Cubism, Constructivism & Dada would have likely been enough for some to deride & dismiss its ideas. As a genre, it gained traction in the 1960s, when the apparently psychedelic or “trippy” nature of Op Art’s style was fashionable.
One of many art movements that was more of a trend than a movement & that is still met with art elite snobbery, successful Op Art nevertheless requires great discipline & ways of seeing. When colour is used, the combinations have to be carefully selected, depending on the effect you want it to have. As we have explored before, the Pointillists knew this & like the Pointillists, the Op Artists are actually limited in numbers. Expressing the world like this is not for everyone.
Op Art often combines art & maths & M.C. Escher was often criticised for his willingness to apparently eschew art for maths. In less methodical or capable hands, his optical illusions would perhaps be nothing but maths, but Escher was an ideas man. So was his work really in fact science? He was interested in “expressing endlessness on a two-dimensional plane.” This can be seen in everything from his “impossible” steps (where everything is drawn accurately & in proportion) to his Metamorphosis works depicting various creatures melting into each other in an almost cyclical vision of life itself.
But Escher didn’t attach himself to any movement & saw himself as a lonely artist in every way, not belonging to the mathematics nor art worlds. He is simultaneously unique & the greatest Op artist of them all; in that sense, he’s like the godfather of the genre. Not actually related but rather an honorary member of the family.
Victor Vasarely (1906-1997), Hungary-France
Kezdi Ga (1970)
Victor made an appearance when we visited geometry in art, really as the originator of Op Art. His almost Impressionistic 1938 zebras had no outer line – they were merely expressed by their stripes. Here he presents us with a series of geometric shapes, manipulated into a pattern of sorts, but they’re buckled & warped. It’s quite a feat of ingenuity, especially when we know that this is a screenprint & not even a drawing, never mind a digitally-created image.
Peter Sedgley (b. 1930), UK
Suspense (1966)
Having said all that, some of Sedgley’s works do move, creating mind-bending & spinning circles which rotate at programmed intervals. Other times, he would connect sound with the images as well as motion sensors which actually generate colour change. What is perhaps even more remarkable is that his works are painted on canvas.
Richard Allen (1933-1999), England
Warp (1971)
This work almost seems scribbled at first sight, until we realise it consists of a carefully constructed series of zig-zagged lines. It was created as part of a group of two colour acrylic paintings on canvas.
Ara Peterson (b. 1973), USA
Not Yet Titled (2008)
We can clearly see the whole line of Op Artists have inspired Peterson’s work. But the difference with his is it is in three dimensions. This takes nothing away from the intensity & cleverness of the work. This sculpture is laser cut wood which has been painted.
Richard Anuszkiewicz (1930-2020), USA
Plus Reversed (1960)
As we can see here, Anuszkiewicz worked with colour Despite being deeply penetrating, this piece is almost decorative, almost like textiles or wallpaper. In the 1960s, his career ran parallel to Bridget Riley’s (pun acknowledged but not intended) & he was once described as a “wizard of Op.”
Jim Lambie (b. 1964), Scotland
ZOBOP (1999)
Lambie’s colourful immersive installations can have a powerfully disorienting effect & uses everyday items to create his sculptures. Most notable perhaps are his different coloured vinyl tape strips placed together to cover gallery floors.
Jésus Rafael Soto (1923-2005), Venezuala
Light Trap (1965)
As with countless artists before him & since, Soto’s work began as a response to & rejection of what was in the art world at the time. The movement in this piece is caused by the movement of the viewer. A metal wire has been placed at the centre & as someone walks past, the vertical lines appear to flicker.
Angela Bulloch (b. 1966), Canada
Pacific Rim Around & Sideways Up (c. 1912)
Another artist working with sound & creating installations, Bulloch’s visuals will respond to musical scores in some of her pieces. If you look closely, you might be able to make out the fact that this work is a window installed into the façade of a building (Nord/LB building, Friedrichswall, Hanover).
Peter Kogler (b. 1959), Austria
Galerie Mitterand installation (2016)
Can you even imagine being in this? Doesn’t the thought of it even make you feel a bit sick? This woozy installation takes the term “immersive” to a completely different level.
Here is a video clip of one of his “illusion rooms”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiSac27C-Hg&feature=youtu.be
Bridget Riley (b. 1931), England
Untitled Fragment 5/8 (1965)
Bridget is one of my favourite artists. Pioneering & frankly the best working in the Op Art genre, her work was even pilfered by fashion designers in the 1960s. Much of her black & white works epitomise the time because of this. But she was also inspired by the colour of Ancient Egypt & how they could work together to create different effects. She worked on this meticulously, producing experimental swatch after experimental swatch.
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