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Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely is known as the “Father Figure” of Op Art. In his early years, he started off as a graphic designer and was influenced by artists of the Bauhaus and early Abstract Expressionism. He then went on to use these principles and geometric precision to start the Op Art movement. His works were in the form of paintings, posters, and fabrics. One of his notable works is entitled Zebra, which uses a variety of curved lines in black and white to create zebras with an illusion. -
Bridget Riley
Bridget Riley is a celebrated artist that is known for her distinctive, optically vibrant paintings. She uses a chromatic technique of identifiable hues or achromatic colors to achieve movement and catch the viewer’s eye. She was the first British contemporary painter and female to win the Biennale’s International Prize in painting. One her beautiful works is entitled Movement in Squares. In this piece, she uses a geometric pattern of checkerboard squares to create motion and an illusion. -
Balcony
Maurits Cornelis Escher, Balcony, 1945, lithograph, 11 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC -
Op Art's Beginning
Optical Art was a movement that began in the 1950s and was led by Vasarely and Bridget Riley. It is a mathematically-themed form of Abstract art that uses repetition of simple forms and colors to create vibrating effects, moiré patterns, foreground-background confusion, and an exaggerated sense of depth. Op Art is based on tricking the viewer’s visual perception and manipulating that perception to give the illusion of three-dimensional space or to create an impression of light and shadow. -
Period: to
Op Art
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Resources and Image links
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/optical.html
http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/op_art.htm
http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/opart.htm
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=36163&int_modo=2#.UWtC8Vefh8E
http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/riley.html
http://arthistory.about.com/cs/namesvv/p/vasarely.htm
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/o/opart.html
(Images were on all on same webstie) -
Relativity
Maurits Cornelis Escher, Relativity, 1953, lithograph, 11 1/8 x 11 5/8 inches, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. -
"Le Mouvement" Exhibition
"Le Mouvement" exhibition opened in the Galerie Denise René in Paris from April 6 - 30, 1955. All the pieces of artwork included focused on the principles of color, light, and motion. -
Basilan II
Victor Vasarely, Basilan II,1958, acrylic paint, 60 cm x 65 cm, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran -
Belvedere
Maurits Cornelis Escher, Belvedere, 1958, lithograph, 8 1/4 x 11 5/8 inches, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC -
Time Magazine Coins Name
In Time Magazine’s October issue, they coined the named Optical Art, also known as Op Art, for the new style of art. -
Op Art Exhibition
The Museum of Modern Art in New York opened an Op Art exhibition, which increased the popularity of art style. -
Op Art Ending
As Pop Art and other art styles emerged, Op Art’s popularity began to decreased. -
Quasar-Fugue
Victor Vasarely, Quasar-Fugue,1973, oil on canvas, 150.5 x 150.5 cm, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran.
