Chronicle of a Quest

I prefer "opitcal art" to what seems to be the preferred term. "Op art" sounds a bit too fadish. It refers to art that employs an arrangement of geometric patterns and colors to create an optical illusion of some sort. It became popular in the mid-1960's. That's when I was coming of age. In 1965 I was still a small boy too young to have real memories. By the late 60's I was already in school and remember visiting Washington D.C. with my family. That was the summer of 1968. Social revolution was in full swing--hippies, psychedelic music, flower power, black power, peace and love symbols... I didn't know that the art of the time had the funny name of "op art." It was modern art to me--or perhaps more appropriately "mod art."

Bridget Riley, whose twirling pattern is shown below, is considered one of the pioneers of the movement. I still see this kind of art as modern. I don't see it limited to a narrow time frame as suggested in the article.