what is op art

Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. It emerged in the 1960s and is characterized by abstract patterns, often in black and white, with a stark contrast between background and foreground. Op art works in a similar way to optical illusions, using shapes, colors, and patterns in special ways to create images that look as if they are moving or blurring. The term "Op art" was coined by Time magazine in 1964, in response to Julian Stanczaks show Optical Paintings at the Martha Jackson Gallery, to mean a form of abstract art that uses optical illusions. Op art is a perceptual experience related to how vision functions. It is a dynamic visual art that stems from a discordant figure-ground relationship that puts the two planes—foreground and background—in a tense and contradictory juxtaposition. Op art artists create works in two primary ways: the first method is to create abstract patterns composed with a stark contrast of foreground and background, often in black and white, to produce effects that confuse and excite the eye. The second method is to create works that dont just look as if they are moving – they actually ARE moving, which is sometimes called kinetic art. The principal artists of the Op art movement were Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Larry Poons, and Jeffrey Steele.