Bridget Riley and Op-Art

Grade 8 students recently learned about Bridget Riley and Op-Art. After reading an Art & Man article, students worked in groups of four to answer a few questions about where Riley gets her ideas and how she puts them on paper, then brainstormed a few ideas of their own. Above is our Facebook wall with examples of Op-Art, some background information and Riley's friend Viktor Vasserly. We also viewed a power point of other op- art works, pointing out what lines, shapes or spaces were repeated and how they were transformed.

 

We primarily focused on repeating and transforming a line, shape or space to show the illusion of depth, movement or visual confusion. I also placed great emphasis on craftsmanship. Students could decide what materials they wanted to use to add color: black or blue sharpie, markers or color pencil. Protractors, rules, compasses, triangles and tracers were also made available. It was difficult at first for some students as the possibilities were endless, but once they thought of a specific element and doodled on graph paper, things started moving.

I had multiple students ask me if I was related to Bridget Riley. Another even commented when he saw the photo on the board that he didn't know that I had dark hair before. 

What do you think?

For the record, I do think Riley looks like my mom!