POP ART

■ Pop art, art movement of the late 1950s and ’60s

that was inspired by commercial and popular
culture. Although it did not have a specific style or
attitude, Pop art was defined as a diverse response
to the postwar era’s commodity-driven values, often
using commonplace objects (such as comic strips,
soup cans, road signs, and hamburgers) as subject
matter or as part of the work.
■ Pop art began in the mid-1950s in Britain by a
group of painters, sculptors, writers, and critics
called Independent Group. It spread soon after into
the United States. Much of the movement’s roots
were prompted by a cultural revolution led by
activists, thinkers, and artists who aimed to
restructure a social order ruled by conformity. The
movement spread quickly, and many believe that
U.K. Pop pioneer Richard Hamilton‘s 1956 collage
Just what is it that makes today’s homes so
different, so appealing? marked the official
beginning of the cultural phenomenon after it
appeared in Whitechapel Gallery in London.

 Hamilton described the movement’s characteristics

writing, “Pop art is: Popular (designed for a mass
audience), Transient (short-term solution),
Expendable (easily forgotten), Low cost, Mass
produced, Young (aimed at youth), Witty, Sexy,
Gimmicky, Glamorous, Big business.” After the
movement burst onto the scene in the United States,
it quickly spread across the globe and continues to
influence fine art and popular culture today.
 OP ARTS
 Flashback to 1964. In the United States, we were still reeling from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, encapsulated in the Civil
Rights movement, and being "invaded" by British pop/rock music. Many people were also over the notion of achieving the idyllic lifestyles
that were so prevalent in the 1950s. It was a perfect time for a new artistic movement to burst on the scene.
 In October of 1964, in an article describing this new style of art, Time Magazine coined the phrase "Optical Art" (or "Op Art", as it's more
commonly known). The term referenced the fact that Op Art is comprised of illusion and often appears to the human eye to be moving or
breathing due to its precise, mathematically-based composition.
 After (and because of) a major 1965 exhibition of Op Art entitled "The Responsive Eye," theublic became enraptured with the movement.
As a result, one began to see Op Art everywhere: in print and television advertising, as LP album art, and as a fashion motif in clothing and
interior design.
 Although the term was coined and the exhibition held in the mid-1960s, most people who have studied these things agree that Victor
Vasarely pioneered the movement with his 1938 painting "Zebra."
 M. C. Escher's style has sometimes caused him to be listed as an Op artist as well, though they don't quite fit the definition. Many of his
best-known works were created in the 1930s and include amazing perspectives and use of tessellations (shapes in close arrangements).
These two certainly helped point the way for others.
 It can also be argued that none of Op Art would have been possible—let alone embraced by the public—without the prior Abstract and
Expressionist movements. These led the way by de-emphasizing (or, in many cases, eliminating) representational subject matter.
 What Are the Characteristics of Op
Art?
 Op Art exists to fool the eye. Op compositions create a sort of visual tension in the viewer's mind that gives works the illusion of movement. For
example, concentrate on Bridget Riley's "Dominance Portfolio, Blue" (1977) for even a few seconds and it begins to dance and wave in front of
your eyes.

 Realistically, you know that any Op Art piece is flat, static, and two-dimensional. Your eye, however, begins sending your brain the message that
what it's seeing has begun to oscillate, flicker, throb and any other verb one can employ to mean, "Yikes! This painting is moving!"

 Op Art is not meant to represent reality. Due to its geometrically-based nature, Op Art is, almost without exception, non-representational. Artists
do not attempt to depict anything we know in real life. Instead, it is more like abstract art in which composition, movement, and shape dominate.

 Op Art is not created by chance. The elements employed in a piece of Op Art are carefully chosen to achieve maximum effect. In order for the
illusion to work, each color, line, and shape must contribute to the overall composition. It takes a great deal of forethought to successfully create
artwork in the Op Art style.

 Op Art relies on two specific techniques. The critical techniques used in Op Art are perspective and careful juxtaposition of color. The color may
be chromatic (identifiable hues) or achromatic (black, white, or gray). Even when color is used, they tend to be very bold and can be either
complementary or high-contrast.

 Op Art typically does not include the blending of colors. The lines and shapes of this style are very well defined. Artists do not use shading when
transitioning from one color to the next and quite often two high-contrast colors are placed next to each other. This harsh shift is a key part of
what disturbs and tricks your eye into seeing movement where there is none.

 Op Art embraces negative space. In Op Art—as in perhaps no other artistic school—positive and negative spaces in a composition are of equal
importance. The illusion could not be created without both, so Op artists tend to focus just as much on the negative space as they do the positive.
 Famous arts of OP Arts
■ Victor Vasarely is considered as one of
the fathers of op-art. Born in 1906, he
had a passion for art. Painter Cezanne
was his favorite artist, and as he grew
older, his talent for art grew as well. At
first, he tried to take up a medical
career. After noticing that it was not
working out too well, he decided to
model his childhood artist fave and
started working on various artworks,
eventually developing his own style,
later known as op-art. He continued to
work on his pieces until he died in
Paris, 1997.
 Bridget Riley
■ Fans of op-art consider Bridget Riley to
be the mother of op-art, further
developing optical art from Victor
Vasarely's style and approach. She was
born in 1931 in Norwood. Her father, a
printer, had to move because of work,
and so did the family. They ended up in
Lincolnshire, but soon relocated to
Cornwall. She grew up in a free
childood, and had already begun painting
and drawing. She took this up as her
main career until her father had been
injured in a car accident. For awhile she
was unable to work on art, but in 1958
she took it up again and started using the
op-art style to create new things. She was
very succesful, and is still alive today.
 Josef Albers
■ Josef Albers, born in Bottrop, Germany
in 1888, he spent a few years teaching
children about "everything", later
becoming an art teacher. After being an
art teacher for a few months, he
developed into a printmaker and
figurative artist. He enrolled in a school
that taught about this kind of art, and
continued his line in art. He taught in
Yale for some time, and after that spent
his time designing and making op-art.
He integrated color into his art, and
used it and his prior knowledge to
create a series of artworks known as
"Homage to the Square". He continued
his works and died in the 1970
 Richard Anuskiewicz
■
Richard was considered the "American new
wizard" of optical -art, and was not well-known
but was important in the further development of
op-art. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1930,
Richard enjoyed art at an early age, and was
encouraged by his father. At the school he ended
up at, his passion for art developed and grew,
and he eventually was able to draw for seven
hours straight. When he was older, he went to
the Cleveland Institution of Art where he found
and became interested in op-art. He graduated
and went to Yale and, interestingly enough, was
taught by Josef Albers for some time. He
learned about many things from Albers, and
used this knowledge to create many artworks.
He still is alive today, creating new paintings.
 Richard Allen
■ Born in 1933, Allen gre up in a rural
environment, gaining little knowledge of art.
However, at an early age he attempted a few
works which failed. His father, who worked
in the Ministry of Agriculture, sent Richard
to The Institute of Agriculture, where he
learned about key concepts to making
optical-art. As he grew older, he attended the
Bath Academy of Art, where he developed
his style and skill more. In later years he
taught at the Croydon College of Art while
creating op-art. As he continued to work, he
was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease,
and made little progress with his work
because of the symtoms. He died in Febuary,
1999.