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Victor Vasarely. Born: April 9,1906 Died: March 15,1997. Today’s Lesson. Victor Vasarely Abstract Optical Illusion. Vasarely’s Life. Born in Hungary Studied medicine before traditional painting
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Victor Vasarely Born: April 9,1906 Died: March 15,1997
Today’s Lesson • Victor Vasarely • Abstract Optical Illusion
Vasarely’s Life • Born in Hungary • Studied medicine before traditional painting • In 1930 he moved to Paris where he worked as a graphic artist and began working on his style of abstract art. • His art came to be known as Optical Art because of the optical illusion created by his use of contrasting colors and geometric shapes. • He was hailed as the creator of “Op-Art”. • Died in Paris
Victor Vasarely’s Art • Vasarely experimented with textural effects, perspective, shadow and light. • He also experimented with cubistic, futuristic, expressionistic, symbolistic and surrealistic paintings without developing a unique style. • Finally, Vasarely found his own style of geometric abstract art, working in various materials but using minimal number of forms and colors.
Vocabulary Definitions • Shape: A flat figure created when lines meet to enclose a space. A change in color or shading can define a shape. Shapes can be divided into several types: • geometric (square, triangle, circle) and • organic (irregular in outline). • Abstract: A work of art that is usually based on an identifiable subject, but the artist leaves out the details, simplifies or rearranges visual elements. • Abstract works that have no identifiable subject are called nonobjective art.
Vocabulary Definitions (cont.) • Optical Illusion: A misleading image. • Contrast:A large difference between two things; for example, rough and smooth, yellow and purple, light and shadow. • Contrasts usually add excitement, drama and interest to artworks.
Zebegan (1964) • What do you see in this painting? Do you see any objects or people or things? • What shapes do you see in this painting? (circles and squares) • Are all other shapes the same color? Which ones are the same color? (the circles and smaller squares) • Are there places in the painting that seem to stand out more than other places? Where are they? (the yellow squares) • What happens if you stare at this painting for a long time? What happens to some of the smaller shapes after you stare at the painting? (They start to look like they are floating or moving) • Do you think the artist wanted this to happen? Do you think he planned what colors he put on top of what and where he put each shape?
Zebegan (cont.) • Made up of brightly colored shapes (squares, circles, and smaller squares) • Zebegen is an abstract painting. The artist is not trying to paint any object or person. He is only concerned with using shapes and colors in an interesting way. • All the bigger squares have smaller shapes on top of them (some are almost the same color but seem to blend into each other) • If you look at it long enough the shapes appear to dance around and move. This is called an optical illusion. Our eyes are playing tricks on us.
Vasarely’s Quotes • “Every form is a base for color, every color is the attribute of a form.” • “Pure form – color could represent the world.”
What we will be doing • Make different arrangements using your pre-cut geometric shapes until you find a design and optical effect you like. • 6 large red squares • 3 blue and 3 yellow medium circles • 3 blue and 3 yellow small squares • 3 blue and 3 yellow small circles • Then glue the shapes in place on the mounting paper. • Try and use ALL of the shapes you are given.