US based architecture, construction and development firm ‘The Beck Group’ created this interesting Op Art play house for children for a Giving Gala 2011 charity event in Dallas, Texas (USA). The “design concept was motivated by a big zebra in the green grassland”. The play house was constructed using plywood 4″ insulation foam which was cut by a CNC machine.
Thanks to Nathalie for pointing this one out to me.
Robin Hunnam creates both digital and photographic Op Art. He studied graphic design at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, went on to work as an art director in a London Advertising Agency and now works a designer and illustrator.
“The two most important lessons that I learnt during the course were that at its heart, design is really only concerned with problem solving and that a great idea is always better than a great technique. This realisation was never more important than during my career as an art director in London advertising agencies – places where ideas are the most valuable currency.“
“Great ideas are about simplicity and about stripping away the unnecessary or the merely decorative. Op Art is a dramatic example of the visual power of simplicity. Some of the most memorable artworks from the movement are even devoid of colour, tone and variety of line and shape.”
Robin cites Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely as major influences; it was M. C. Escher however who was the most influential on the development of Robin’s art and design work.
“His work has an elegance of idea and execution. When I look through his body of work I see behind it the countless initial ideas, the failures and dead-ends that came before the final piece. By the time that the viewer first sees the completed work, there is a sense that it has always existed. His ability to create a visual magic that is greater than the sum of the visual parts will never fail to inspire me.“
“I strive to make my work look effortless and even obvious – trying to keep it a secret that it took many initial pencil sketches before it even began to take shape on the computer. I work on an Apple iMac and use Adobe CS4 – primarily the Illustrator program. I am most at ease with Illustrator simply because it thinks like I do and it looks kindly on people who can really draw in the old-fashioned way.”
“I believe it is important to look beyond the narrow confines of western art and design for inspiration in one’s own work and I spend time researching arts and crafts from other times and other cultures including Japan, Polynesia, first nation America, and Africa. It is humbling to realise that artists and craftsmen for millennia have wrestled with and resolved the same visual problems that I try to today.”
You can see more of Robin’s Op Art work on his website, Grasshoppermind.
Nick Benson was inspired to create this beautiful Op Art photo whilst doing research for his 2D Colour Theory class. From Wikipedia: “Although being relatively mainstream, photographers have been slow to produce op art. In painting, Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley were producing large amounts of art and the same can be said for many digital artists, such as Kitaoka. One of the primary reasons for the lack of photographers doing op art, is the difficulty in finding effective subject matter”
Limitless - Nick Benson Photography
Nick says: “I took that last sentence as a challenge. Here’s my first attempt at some Photographic Op Art, as well as the steps I took in creating this.
– I found a subject matter on the University of Hartford’s campus
– Took the photo using my Sigma 10-20mm lens to create more prominent vanishing points
– Processed the camera’s RAW image file in Adobe Lightroom 3
– Cropped the photo down to an 11×14 aspect ratio for a more effective compositon
– In Photoshop CS5 I inverted the colors and added a cooling filter, to create the three major classes of color interaction; simultaneous contrast, successive contrast, and reverse contrast.”
Nick says he is planning to take more Op Art inspired photos in the near future, so please keep an eye on the new Op Art Photography Gallery where we’re hoping to see more of Nick’s work soon. In the meanwhile, you can see more of Nick’s inspiring photos at Nick Benson Photography on Flickr.
A Flag for the Forgotten - Nick Benson
The person behind “I am, we are” – the latest artist to feature in the Op Art Gallery – is a 27 year old self-taught art director from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
How do you create your work?
My process is purely based on a concept idea, experimentation and evolution. A rough draft may end up as a completely different thing. I only use Adobe Illustrator to develop my design pieces since it gives me the freedom to print my designs in a vast array of formats and sizes, while still retaining line fidelity. I am self taught, and extremely critical about my process. I constantly find myself looking for new ways to evolve my technique. The infinite limitations of geometry…
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My main source of inspiration, and motivation would be the unknown. My inner eye develops with time, experience, and most of all effort. I am driven by the evolution of my work, and that of the collective’s. This in turn motivates me to spend countless hours behind the screen. Nature will always push my imagination, making the finite infinite.
Why Op Art?
I love op art and kinetic art because it engages the viewer not only visually, but spiritually as well. It has no flag, no religion and it chooses no side – much like nature. Depending on the individual, each piece acquires its own meaning.
Any other art that you particularly like?
Basically many variations of geometric art: classical structures, knots, fractals, Kinetic art, Bauhaus, tessellations, patterns and surfaces…
Outside of creating your art..?
If I am not working on a new design, I create murals with the help of my girlfriend; I am also making a huge collection of wall poster prints to paste around the city I live in. Also I am an information freak, I will eat up any documentary or pdf book I can find.
You can see more of I am, we are and keep up to date on his new pieces on his flickr stream. If you’re wondering where inspiration for the titles to the pieces came from, my guess would be here.
Meeta Panesar, a graphic designer from San Francisco in the US, has created a really interesting and well-executed concept design for Op Art Wine Packaging. You can see the full post on Meeta’s site here with the full image set.
Op Art Wine © Meeta Panesar 2011
“The design is inspired by the colors and designs of Joseph Albers and the Op Art movement. The usage of the rectangular elements reflects Alber’s “Homage to the Square,” a series of paintings begun in 1949.”