Fauvists began to play with flat colours in vibrant hues that resonated together to create optical and emotional vibrations. With the advent of abstract art, many of these illusionistic techniques were explored more systematically, and were used to evoke the perception of form without suggesting a literal meaning. Optical art, or Op art as it is better known, became popular in Europe and in the United States in the mid 1960s. Op Art was dedicated to the exploration of discernible illusions. The term was first coined in America s Time magazine in October 1964, and by 1965 it was well entrenched in the art world and soon spilled over into advertising and design in popular culture.
Optical art involves the study of perception.
Op artists use geometric shapes as a theme in their works. Included are symmetrical, illusionary, and optical discrepancy compositions. In the mid-20th century, artists such as Josef Albers , Victor Vasarely , and M.C. Escher experimented with Optical Art. Escher's work, although not abstract, also deals extensively with various forms of visual tricks and paradoxes. The rare inclusion of geometric optical art in art history texts suggests that critics often dismissed the genre as less painterly, intellectual or emotive than previous art movements.