Artist of OP Art
Artist of OP Art
Introduction
Op art refers to the artwork that involves the paintings and sculptures based upon illusion. It is described as an “Optical Art” that revolves around movements and directly attacks an eye. It uses optics and by having an immense use of disorientating and optical effects, the paintings are finalized by using brilliant colors, geometrical shapes, and different patterns. OP art is mainly an abstract art in which forms, lines, and space play a major role of bringing out a painting of ambiguous nature. In other and simple words, an op art is an illusion of movement meaning that while having its look one feels that the painting is moving in one or the other direction and is in continuous motion. Op art is an art category that generates vivid visual effects by making magic with color and diverse contrasts that seem difficult for the eye to understand. For couple of centuries artists have been working upon visual arts and trying to understand the nature of perception. They have been analyzing the importance of illusion and the way visual effects can increase the beauty of paintings and make them more attractive to an eye. In order to draw an art there is always a need for some theme that the artist keeps in mind to reflect in his work. With the advances in technology and study in psychology, artists started to use abstract patterns with contrast of mostly black and white in background and foreground, creating the image of real motion. The contrasts are often used the ones that excite or confuse the eye.
Discussion
Op art was developed by the artists who had a keen interest towards perceptual effects. Op art started to get importance and center of attention in the 1960’s especially in America it has its base from the year 1839 when French chemist named as Michel- Eugene Chevreul the originator of pointillism began experimenting upon it. Influenced by movements and pairing of colors to create an eye-catching painting brought him into lime light (Pitz and Marcuard, 2001, pp. 35-39). He brought new traditions, went beyond them to experiment with small strokes of color, and then blended them to form a picture. When picture would be viewed, from distance one could understand its true concept, movement, and the idea behind picture. According to him, art had some science and as a result, he went across the traditional boundaries and worked on psychological power of form and line and color theory. Op art mainly focuses upon abstraction so that when an observer sees to it he can understand the concept behind it. The beauty of op art is that when observer looks in to the picture it reveals something else than the illusion he gets at first glance. Usually the pieces of op art involve two major colors black and white but with passage of time, new experiments and diversity of colors with diversified contrast became its part. The hidden imaginary, different movements, various patterns, abstract expressions, bold colors, and flashes are all the elements and specialties of op art that bring response to it and make it exceptional from other form of art. The idea behind op art is that when different patterns of geometry are developed then they are sure to instigate great emotions in the observer. The best thing about op art is that the selection of colors used in it portray a particular feeling that the observer understands by going deep down into it. It means that the abstract art does not only convey message through its design or pattern but the blend of complimentary colors also plays an imperative role to suggest a feeling of sorrow, happiness, aggression, grief etc.
The basic idea behind the development of op art was mainly for some people to merge this contemporary art into society in innovative ways. Moreover, it acted as a hope through which, they could get public appreciation and hence pioneers of stylish art. As a result, it proved to be a style that portrayed modern art that went beyond traditional boundaries. Years back the exhibition by Julian Stanczak took place in which he brought out his exceptional work of optical paintings. The work became an inspiration and the artist got huge and over whelming response (Pagel, 2001). Following huge success, famous writer and artist reviewed an exhibition and used the term op art for the very first time. As a result, its origins date back to number of years when Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote about colors. In the same 19th century, the paintings of Georges Seurat including the concept of Neo Impressionism also discussed op art (Bois, 2008).
In maximizing, the image of art, technology and more importantly computer has played a major role to become spiritual tools. Bringing advances in styles, allowing various options, playing with different colors, putting imaginary world to the art, contemporary processes, new materials, are all elements that boosted and provided an edge to the artists by technology. Due to its importance, technology and forms have been having strong relationships. According to many artists, optical art and movement come out of great link between art, technology, science, and environment. Optical art portrays the participation of an observer as it requires him to include his changing, individual, and constructive perception the picture is found to be following. A creative act transfers meanings, perception, and physical changes to the observer. It is an open work of art that stresses the artists to use his point of view and creative skills and the same time allows the follower to think beyond his actions and thoughts.
Bauhaus School
A trend of art began to gather its force when kinetic art was introduced that involved the development of illusion or real movement. Each artist used his own approach and discipline to bring out something innovative and new. Kinetic art was concerned with the optics in which psychological and physical processes of vision were focused. Taking the idea from kinetic art, op art began to emerge. The Germany took a lead and a school named as Bauhaus School was initiated by Walter Gropius (Larkin, 2012). The basic reason behind such development was to bring together all the leading artists, designers, and architects and allow them to have an extra ordinary conversation. Their merger would involve the technology and changing impacts upon the nature of art. The school had a specialty of providing the opportunities related to the architecture and applied arts that adopted the disciplined styles, involving geometrical shapes such as circle, cube, and rectangle. Bauhaus School brought revolution in the way art was taught on those days. From the traditional style of teaching where student and teacher relationship would continue, it went beyond that. The school focused upon producing high quality artists and making it a place and destination for artists to grow and learn more and more about art. It became like a community where artists would come to share their ideas, skills, abilities, and creativity. Bauhaus school kept providing its services and making great contributions in artwork until 1933 when it had to shut down due to Nazis. However, it continued to work along with other schools that were going to start their operations in United States of America and Budapest. Following its closure, artists moved here and there to bring a series of their work and increase the tendencies of op art.
Victor Vasarely
Op art has many intellectuals behind its development and fame. Various artists proved to be working upon merging the traditional ideas and modern techniques such as of op art to bring originality and meaning to the work. The senior amongst such artists was Victor Vasarely who was considered as founder, pioneer of painting, or father of op art. He was a born artist who had an obsession of art (Lynton, 1997). After spending years of studying and learning art in Poldini-Volkman Academy and school in Budapest, he finally moved to France in 1930. With learning art and neglecting medical career, his art talent was growing day by day, inspiring from Cezanne. Working as a commercial artist, he spent valuable ten years of his career in bringing creativities to optical illusion and poster art. In 1943, with huge expansion of his work he turned back to painting and arranged his solo exhibition in the year 1944. Throughout 1940, he remained famous due to forming an artwork that involved hard edge geometric shaped abstract work. He designed pictures with motions and illusions that seemed active all around the painting. Vasarely did not confine himself to such work but he went beyond and experimented with tapestry and kinetic work. Vasarely always believed in innovative work and creativities that seemed to be inspired by various other famous artists. With the support of Hungarian born artist who was mainly a French abstract painter and sculptor, early 1930’s witnessed huge change in opt artwork. Being teacher and contributor towards the success of Bauhaus school, he associated himself in Budapest school and began his experimental works with various types of poster arts. In addition to that, the graphic artist and painter also brought out amazing visual tricks that were showing his keen interest towards op art. Playing with white and black colors, he got extremely famous due to his exceptional and outstanding work specifically related to zebras that were true examples of geometric abstract pictures.
It can be said that he was not limited to his own thoughts and world of imaginary but got an inspiration from other leading professionals too. Being the top and modern artist his work was no doubt contemporary and with the firm belief of taking amazing ideas from traditional art and exploiting modern techniques with scientific advances, he moved further. However, his main work was graphic in white and black but he never hesitated of taking vivid colors to create a balance between intuitive and organic work. He always proceeded with the mission to develop a city, which was multi dimensional, full of colors, geometrical shaped, having elements of kinetic and communal art too. As with all the arts of abstract and optics, Vasarely’s work was also disturbing to an eye (Metcalf, 2004, p. 25). In reality, such element proves the success of an artist as he seems to be able to fulfill his mission and that is the op art all about to dazzle the eye. However, Vasarely and any other artists never go with the intention to bring confusion into the mind of spectator and disturb his equilibrium. He kept introducing his unique styles and art pieces until his death in 1997, Paris.
Other Famous Artists
Optical art was not confined to the work of Vasarely but plenty of artists contributed to its success specifically in 1960’s. One among them was Bridget Riley to whom OP arts’ fans considered the mother of Op art (Van Tonder, 2010, pp. 283-288). She took a step further and inspiration from Vasarely’s artwork, approach, and style. Since childhood, she had a keen interest in painting and drawing that took her to a very high level, following the career in art and creating new ideas of OP art. In the same way, Josef Albers also continued line in art and painting, playing with the colors and creating a series of exceptional pieces (Díaz, 2008, pp. 260-285).
Importance of Op Art
The representational style and subject matter was a traditional method of art, which separated from art in the late 19th century. Expressionist and abstract movements were given birth that influenced the establishment and art of optics. The results of such movements were that representational style got more importance than non-representational subject matter (Zanker, 2004, pp. 75-94). Op had a geometrical based nature that enhanced its feeling of space and depth and developed it with exact demonstration of natural world in an art. However, it did not mean that traditional style was no more of importance. The artists combined traditional and op art to bring huge impacts and illusionary movements in paintings. The optical effect and technique allowed the user to feel vibration, flash, warping, and swelling. The colors Black and white became main colors that artists used in their themes to create wavy lines that were close to each other, making the surface to sparkle and move according to eyes.
Op art was a term, which was coined by the time magazine in year 1965, but its importance grew many years back. A non-objective art continued to fool the eye until it would go in its depth, detecting a sense of some sort of movement. Its first works were produced in black and white but later on various other colors also contributed. Various artists use the colors not according to the emotional or substantive content but according to the illusion qualities. In order to establish the desired illusions, artist uses negative and positive spaces. Painting exploits the relationship through eye retina and brain then brings the observer in to confusion when finally he experiences illusionary effects. Op art is said to be confusing, strange and develops nausea infusing impacts but following the rules of illusionary perception, it makes work interesting to the observer. Since the Old Stone Age, each piece of representational style focuses upon abstract and optical illusion. Op art movement started by Vasarely, matured with the passage of time, and involved closer to the sciences, playing with the sequence and endless combinations. With op art, the color theory got more emphasis and importance. The choice of colors depends upon the proximity of other color combinations. In op art, the colors are manipulated and thus apparent movement is created.
As the time passed, op art was not left to the work of artists in paintings but it moved further. Designers understood the beauty of this art and brought its various designs with vibrant colors in dresses. Op art became a fashion symbol in designer dresses and people loved to wear them. The modernism of music, film, social change, and fashion affected the awareness of people, as they were ready to wear bold and sharp designs and styles, portraying op art. Op artists came up with the new ideas and included it in music as well. The videos would include op animations and various motions that attracted many eyes. In 1965, the exhibition of Op art attracted huge mass and thus its awareness began to increase.
Conclusion
Op art has its own exceptional ways. In the current century, that takes benefit of advanced technology and excessive options, one can understand its importance and contribution not only in arts but in normal life as well. Op art is all about various calculations, technical skills, math, and planning and thus takes much work from computers. However, that does not mean that artwork by hand hardly had its significance. Hand created work is more appreciated by people who have a true sense of art and the mind of an artist. In the art world, the work of Matisse and Picasso proved exceptional in their centuries but their work was fading up with the passage of time. The young painters focused upon perspectives but their work did not continue for longer. However, that did not mean that their work was not recognized at all. They proved themselves as ironic, bringing their own styles of arts. As the time moved, there was encouragement to experiment upon art and move into different directions of sculptor and paintings. Several artistic and cultural movements refocused upon the work of old artists and brought the feel of abstract expressionism once again. Modern art came into force during 1960’s but its impact began to decline after that. However, new and advanced technology could support it to a great deal. The elements of a distinctive style, geometrical patterns, illusions, movements, dynamic nature of art were never possible to be revealed until the formation of op art. Op art also has a great connection with the science as according to many, when the eye observes the picture, brain works and generates microsaccades. As a result, movements seem to link with the brain. At once observer poorly understands the picture but is able to maintain his vision once brain mechanism connects with the illusions. Illusions are no doubt created by the scientist, but are the creations of artists who used their insights, connecting the eyes and brains.
However, op art got much popularity in 1965 in the exhibition in Museum of modern art in New York City but after that, there was a huge follow-up. Artists had a freedom to explore their own world of imaginations and bring aesthetic work. Art became a subject of visual research after the movement of op art. Even today, it holds a great importance and honor by the true artists who live for art and create effects and visual processes, understanding its entire phenomena. Art oversees realities and multiple dimensions of universe and through human perception; it makes an observer aware of colors and its importance. As a result, op art will continue to have its intrigue appeal in the coming future and centuries as well.
References
Bois, Y. 2008, "Georges Seurat: The Drawings", Artforum Inc, New York.
Díaz, E 2008, 'The Ethics of Perception: Josef Albers in the United States', Art Bulletin, 90, 2, pp. 260-285
Larkin, L. 2012, WEIMAR AND DESSAU: BAUHAS AND MORE, German Life, La Vale.
Lynton, N., 1997. Obituary: Victor Vasarely. The Independent
Metcalf, S 2004, 'Art and Physics', Art Education, 57, 1, p. 25,
Pagel, D., 2001,. Art Review; An Optical Immersion; Blazing color and stylishness make a 50-year retrospective of Julian Stanczak's abstract works one of the year's most scintillating shows. Los Angeles Times,
Pitz, H.H. and Marcuard, Y., 2001. Chevreul's report on the mysterious oscillations of the hand-held pendulum: A French chemist's 1833 open letter to Ampere. The Skeptical Inquirer, 25(4), pp. 35-39.
Van Tonder, GJ 2010, 'Perceptual Disruption and Composure in Bridget Riley's Fall', Leonardo, 43, 3, pp. 283-288,
Zanker, JM 2004, 'Looking at Op Art from a computational viewpoint', Spatial Vision, 17, 1-2, pp. 75-94
