OP ARTStarted in the 1950’s

Op art, also known as optical art, is a style of art makes use of optical

illusions.• "Optical art is a method of painting concerning the interaction between illusion and

picture plane, between understanding and seeing.“• Op art works are abstract, with many of the famous ones are in black and white. • When the viewer looks at them, there seems to be movement, hidden images,

flashing and vibration, patterns, or alternatively, of swelling or warping.

& Famous Op Artists

Famous Op ArtistsMC Escher

Victor VassarelyBridget Riley

When you judge this style of art you should talk about its FORMALISM (where compositional elements -such as color, line, shape and texture are emphasized, rather than iconography or the historical and social context.)

According to this point of view, the most important thing about a work of art is the effective organization of the elements of art through the use of the principles of design.

Yet had different roots……

MC Escher!

Sculpture after an Escher Drawing entitled, Dodecahedron.

M.C. Escher1898-1972

• His Mezzotints, of the Intaglio Printmaking family, are known as masterpieces

• Intuitively mathematical creations- Tesselations • “early OP” – used tricky imagery NOT formalism

Hand Reflecting Sphere,1935, lithograph Waterfall, 1961

Circle Limit III, 1959

Victor VasarelyFrench, 1908–1997

widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the short-lived op art movement.

His work entitled Zebra, created in the 1930s, is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of op art.

Vega-Nor

Bridget Riley1931

One of the most important artists of this movement! Her work was very popular!

Supernovae

Bridget Riley, Movement in Squares, 1961 Tempera

Bridget RileyOrient 4, 1970 Acrylic on Canvas, 88x127 in.

Bridget RileyBlaze 1, 1962 Emulsion on Hardboard, 43x43 in.

From Here – Bridget Riley, 1994 – Oil on linen

Pop Art Pop Art was an art movement in the late 1950s and 1960s that reflected everyday life and common objects.

Warhol, Brillo Soap Pads Box, 1964

Majors:

WarholLichtensteinThiebaud

When you judge this style of work you should talk about its Imitationalism. According to this theory, the most important thing about a work of art is the realistic representation of subject matter. A work is considered successful if it looks like and

reminds the audience of what is seen in the real world.

Pop Artists used bold, flat colors and hard edge compositions adopted from commercial designs like those found in:

•Billboards

• Murals

• Magazines

• Newspapers

Campbell's Soup II, 1969, AWF

Pop art was appealing to many viewers, while others felt it made fun of common people and their lives. It was hard for some people to understand why Pop Artists were painting cheap, everyday objects, when the function of art historically was to uphold and represent culture’s most valuable ideals.

Andy Warhol American 1928-1987

Andy Warhol was one of the most famous Pop Artists. Part of his artistic practice was using new technologies and new ways of making art including:

• Photographic Silk-Screening

• Repetition

• Mass production

• Collaboration

• Media events

Andy Warhol, Brillo Boxes installation,

Warhol took common everyday items and gave them importance as “art” He raised questions about the nature of art:

Knives, 1981, AWF

What makes one work of art better than another?

ROY Lichtenstein American, 1923-1997

Lichtenstein began his first pop paintings using cartoon images and techniques derived from the appearance of commercial printing.

His first work to feature the large-scale use of hard-edged figures and Ben-Day dots was Look Mickey (1961) This piece came from a challenge from one of his sons, who pointed to a Mickey Mouse comic book and said; "I bet you can't paint as good as that, eh, Dad?” In the same year he produced six other works with recognizable characters from gum wrappers and cartoons and he didn’t stop there….

Drowning Girl (1963).

Ben Day Dots- old fashion printing

Whaam!, 1963

Commissioned piece, BMW Group 5 320i , 1977 by Roy Lichtenstein

He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture – cakes, pies, lipstick, candy, etc.

Wayne Thiebaudb. 1920

Three Machines, 1963

Cake WindowYellow Mickey Mouse Cake, 1998

The art world today reflects many of the ideas, methods and materials initiated by the Pop Art movement.

Barbara Kruger, Untitled, 1991Courtesy: Mary Boone Gallery, NY

In Untitled, 1991, Barbara Kruger uses the iconography of the American flag

and hard edge graphics to pose a series of provocative questions about

American cultural values.

In Rabbit, 1986, artist Jeff Koons cast a mass-produced inflatable Easter bunny in highly polished stainless steel. The sculpture became iconic of art in the 1980s.

Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986, Jeff Koons