Op Art
by Cyril Barret
Op art is another obsession of mine. I found this book at Powell’s while visiting these fuckers in Portland. Amazon says the book was printed in 1970 and you can definitely tell. It’s beat to hell, but it’s still too awesome. It delves pretty deep into the history of the movement and the artists that influenced and carried it. The book is almost all black and white with a handful of glossy color pages thrown in. It also explains how alot of the illusions work with the eye. The design of the book is pretty solid as well. I have no idea where you’d find another one. If you do have any interest in the subject I’d seek it out.
by Cyril Barret
Op art is another obsession of mine. I found this book at Powell’s while visiting these fuckers in Portland. Amazon says the book was printed in 1970 and you can definitely tell. It’s beat to hell, but it’s still too awesome. It delves pretty deep into the history of the movement and the artists that influenced and carried it. The book is almost all black and white with a handful of glossy color pages thrown in. It also explains how alot of the illusions work with the eye. The design of the book is pretty solid as well. I have no idea where you’d find another one. If you do have any interest in the subject I’d seek it out.
4 Comments
you must show me this book one day
[...] Bauhaus student who I admire. His work has influenced many artists, including those of abstract, Op and conceptual art styles. Although he is best known for his work as an abstract painter he was [...]
I bought this book around the time it was published. I’m very careful about looking after my books so my copy is in perfect condition. It was one a bunch of books on art that I purchased as I made expeditions around the bookshops in London, as a teenager and later on. Together Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley, it forms the core of my books on Op Art. It’s a jewel of a book and one that after you’ve read it, you can discuss the subject with a fair degree of knowledge.
What you’re missing with this beat-up copy of the book is the original acetate dust jacket. The jacket repeated the same patterns that are printed on the hard cover, so you could slide them and obtain interference patterns.