Op Art, or Optical Art, is concerned (in many different ways) with the bridge between art and optical illusions. The desired effect is for the viewer to see the piece and observe something widely considered impossible on a 2D surface, such as movement, enlargement or shrinking, shifting, or changes in lighting. It came about when many open-minded students at a German school which primarily stressed the bond between artwork, realism, and perspective fled to the U.S. after the school's closing. There it took root in Chicago and later Asheville.
This is an example of Op Art entitled "Infinite Staircase." It uses the fairly common tactic of making an object appear to move. When the viewer looks at the piece at a glance, he thinks that the inner, colorful circle appears to rotate clockwise, as well as varying in width. Neither of these visual phenomena are actually occurring.
In this image, entitled "Mushi-Kun," appears to have moving pieces (the worms moving horizontally), when, in reality, this movement is not actually occurring.Optical Art's most widely invoked technique plays upon the human eye's basic expectations. By creating juxtapositions that cause tension in the viewer based upon a lifetime of images that he has experienced, the piece can actually make the viewer's brain connect the pieces or begin the commonly remembered movement.
Although it is a fairly popular form of art, Optical Art often takes a very long time to create. Thus, we do not see much new Op Art in a relatively small amount of time.
