Scintillation and Apparent Motion

Abstract

Scintillations and apparent motions in stationary designs are the hallmarks of an artistic genre that was given the name Op art. It is an extension of geometrical abstraction aimed at producing some striking visual impact on the observer. Op art is an arena in which the visual arts and sciences should be in harmony because they both investigate many of the same phenomena. Alas, in place of harmony we often find discord. This is largely a consequence of radical differences in the methods adopted by each discipline. Scientists rarefy and isolate phenomena to control them in the laboratory, whereas artists embrace complexity and manipulate phenomena intuitively. The differences in method have resulted in divergent vocabularies for describing similar visual effects, and the two approaches can appear more disparate than their phenomenal commonality would suggest. The scintillations and motions apparent in geometrically repetitive patterns are clear to see but the interpretations remain hidden. Whether the changes take place in the eye or the brain is hotly contested. Movements and distortions of the patterns are seen even though none are occurring on the picture plane. Op artists are, however, drawing on a longer tradition both in visual science and in art. Some of the op artists embraced science and sought to find the relationships between the effects they produced in paint or on paper and the science underlying them. Others distanced themselves from such scientific interpretations.