Bridget Riley Op Art The Art of Optical

Bridget Riley Op Art - The Art of Optical Illusion

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 mathematicallythemed form of Abstract art. Abstract meaning it doesn’t have to look like something. • 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 Riley Blaze 1, 1962 Emulsion on Hardboard, 43 x 43 in.

Bridget Riley • Bridget Riley Descending, 1965 Emulsion on Hardboard, 36 x 36 in.

Bridget Riley • Bridget Riley Arrest 1, 1965 Emulsion on Canvas, 70 x 681/4 in.

Bridget Riley • Bridget Riley Cataract 3, 1967 PVA on Canvas, 87 x 873/4 in.

Bridget Riley • Bridget Riley Orient 4, 1970 Acrylic on Canvas, 88 x 127 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)

Bridget Riley • Ease (1987)

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. ”

Look at this picture again… n In Op art, the dark colors recede while the light colors advance.

Student Created Op Art

6 th Grade Mini Lesson

Step One: Draw 34 circles of varying sizes Step Two: Draw a line vertically down the middle, then add curved lines to each side, make it symmetrical.

Step Three: Using a ruler, measure out a checkerboard design for the background. Don’t be skimpy. HINT: DO NOT draw too many lines, it will take forever to color!

Step Four: Choose two colors of colored pencil; high contrasting colors or complementary colors. 2013 - Kids should color the THREE circles with the THREE complementary color sets each. Black and white background. The Complementary should be memorized! R-G B-O Y-V HINT: Now, use your darker color of marker/cp and mark a small dot in every second square so you know where to use that color. DO BACKGROUND AND FOREGROUND (circles) SEPERATELY!

Color, Color!

Step Five: For the last magical step, use a piece of charcoal and outline/shade around one half of the sphere, blending it out with your finger. ***This helps give the illusion of the sphere 'popping' out of the background