Victor Vasarely is an extraordinary French artist who throughout his life tried to surprise the viewer and deceive his brain. His works are truly unique, and the creator himself is considered the founder of the op art art movement in the world.
Victor Vasarely. Biography
The artist was born at the beginning of the twentieth century in Hungary, in the small town of Pecs. His youth was just at the peak of the development of avant-garde creativity and freedom of expression. Probably because of this, he found himself in an unusual direction for that time. Initially, his parents insisted that Victor become a medical assistant, but two years of training at a medical university convinced him of the opposite. In 1927, he quits studying at a prestigious university and goes to study at a private art academy. A year later, he entered the studio "Mukheli", which was a branch of the Bauhaus Sandor Bortnik and L. Mohoy-Nadia.
In 1930, Viktor Vasarely met the woman of his dreams and moved with her to Paris. He began his career by working in advertising agencies, drawing posters and experimenting with ornaments and graphic perspectives.
The first steps in creativity
For a very long time Viktor Vasarely searched for himself in various areas of art. Pictures of an early period of creativity combine futurism and expressionism, surrealism and avant-garde. He experimented a lot with perspective, combined light and shadow, changed textures. Only in the late 1940s did he manage to find his own unique style, thanks to which he would become recognizable in the world.
The first solo exhibition took place during the Second World War, and then it caused a real sensation. Optical effects, abstract forms and various figures came to life on canvases and made people see a dynamic space in a static picture.
In the 50s of the last century, the artist goes even further. From the canvas, he goes to volumetric sculptures, forcing them to move. He actively used mirrors, placing them at such an angle and painting in such a way as to deceive his vision.
Author's method
The play of illusions attracted the artist. He continued his experiments until he patented his own method of creating a work of art. This happened in 1955, since that time graphic illusions could be created without the participation of the author, but with only one condition: the set for creativity was limited to a specific number of colored geometric shapes. It was possible to use: three figures of red, green, blue; two yellow, purple; one black, white and gray; three circles were available, two squares and a rhombus each, there was still a pair of rectangles and triangles; of rounded figures, ovals and dissected circles of two were used.
The new direction quickly gained popularity. The ideology was used in fashion, packaging, design. Extraordinary images embodied in architecture and monumental construction. A striking example was the floor in the building of the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Paris, the composition on which was called "Para-Vista."
"Op art"
Graphic illusions became for Victor a matter of his life. According to the interpretation, this style draws the viewer into an optical illusion created using the correct layout of flat and spatial figures, static and dynamic ornaments. "Op art" was widely used in the 60s of the last century, and its heyday coincided with the period of popularization of "pop art".
Now the originals of the artist can be seen in his own foundation (created during his lifetime) in Aix-en-Provence, at the Center for the Arts. J. Pompidou in the capital of France and in the country where Victor Vasarely came from. Pictures with the names are stored in the city of childhood - in Pec.
"Zebras"
As Victor Vasarely spoke about his work, he did not put emphasis on the heart of the viewer, but on his retina. "Op-art" is an illusory art, a philosophy of being and a test of its psychological characteristics. Consider the paintings of Victor Vasarely (photo below) in more detail. Here, for example, the famous "Zebras".
If you are ever lucky enough to see firsthand the picture of Zebras, note that the animals move parallel to your move. You go to the right, and they follow you, turn in the opposite direction, and they also go. It's amazing!
Psychologists offer another test. Look carefully at the picture and tell me what pattern on horse's skin? White stripes on a black background or vice versa? If you answered that the background is black - you are a pessimist, if white - an optimist.
Collage "Space"
Almost did not write Victor Vasarely paintings with names. Many of his works remain simply amazing three-dimensional canvases. But among all there is a world famous collage called "Cosmos".
This is a picture of a red cylinder like a galaxy. But the picture is not only striking in its form. This is the only work of art that has traveled outside the earth's orbit. In 1982, she was taken aboard by two spacecraft - first the Soyuz T-6, and then the Salyut 7.
Modern tendencies
The display of the basic ideas for creating three-dimensional paintings can be observed in the modern world. They are increasingly used in architecture, monumental construction, computer graphics, design, and, of course, in art. Now no one is surprised to see a 3D picture on the pavement, but only necessarily photographed and amazed at the skill of artists.