Op Art - The Art of Optical Illusion

Bridget Riley

What is “Op” Art?

• “Op” is short for optical. Optical means having to do with the eye.

• You may have heard of an optometrist. An optometrist is an eye doctor.

Op Art began in the 1960’s• Optical Art is a

mathematically-themed form art

• The point of optical art is to confuse the eye.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget Riley was born in 1931 in London.

• Bridget Riley is a well known creator of Op Art. Her work is characterized by its intensity and its often disorientating effect.

Bridget Riley

• In 1960, she began working initially in black and white

• She evolved a style in which she explored the dynamic effects of optical phenomena or Op art. Movement in Squares, 1961

Tempera

Bridget Riley

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

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyDescending, 1965Emulsion on Hardboard, 36x36 in.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyArrest 1, 1965Emulsion on Canvas, 70x681/4 in.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyCataract 3, 1967PVA on Canvas, 87x873/4 in.

Bridget Riley

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

Bridget Riley

• Around the 1980’s her extensive exploration of color and contrast began.

Dominance Portfolio, Blue, 1977

Bridget Riley

• Orphean Elegy I(1978)

• Ease (1987)

Bridget Riley

Bridget Riley

• Echo (2000) Silkscreen

Bridget Riley

• Carnival (2000) Silkscreen

Is the ball moving?

Are the intersections white or gray?

Here’s more “Op Art.”

In Op art, the dark colors

recede while the light

colors advance.

Look at this picture again…

Student Created Op Art