Op Art

1950-1965 - Op Art - Optical Art- A twentieth century art movement and style in which artists sought to create an impression of movement on the picture surface by means of optical illusion. It is derived from, and is also known as Optical Art and Perceptual Abstraction. In the 1960s art world, some critics faulted Op Art's persistent involvement with optical illusion at a time when "the flatness of the picture plane" was the mantra on either side of the Color Field - Minimalist aisle. The term first appeared in print in Time magazine in October 1964, though works which might now be described as "op art" had been produced for several years previously. For instance, Victor Vasarely's painting, Zebras (1938), is made up entirely of curvilinear black and white stripes that are not contained by contour lines. Consequently, the stripes appear to both meld into and burst forth from the surrounding background of the composition. Also the early black and white Dazzle panels of John McHale installed at the This is Tomorrow exhibit in 1956 and his Pandora series at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1962 demonstrate proto-op tendencies. Artists include: Bridget Riley Heinz Mack Victor Vasarely