“The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”: Op Art’s Ophthalmological Tendency

Abstract

It may seem that the time of op art, that flashy movement often deemed to feature visual experiments designed to “trick” the human perceptual apparatus, has passed. The movement burned brightly for a few years, but most writers and critics stopped paying much attention to it, only occasionally dropping in for a withering review of an exhibition. Yet there are reasons, beyond simply an increase in auction prices and a seeming upswing in interest, to return to the movement at this point in time. This article analyzes, in particular through the lens of Siegfried Kracauer, a stylistic tendency, termed here the “ophthalmological,” within op art, typified by Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely, in conjunction with broader social trends, including the financialization of capital, rationalism, and capitalist metaphysics to argue for the ongoing relevance of op as a harbinger of the present.