Op and Kinetic Art by TateInternationalPartnerships

TATE COLLECTION EXHIBITION

THE WORLD GOES OP

THE WORLD GOES OP LEGACIES OF OP AND KINETIC ART WORKS FROM THE TATE COLLECTION

EXHIBITION CONCEPT SUMMARY

moving or kinetic parts, creating perceived or real movement.

This exhibition revisits Op and Kinetic art from a global perspective. In the 1950s and 1960s, many artists were taking ideas from mathematics, scientific research and colour theory, and sometimes using computers to create images, this came to be known as ‘programmed art’.

Op art – short for optical art – emerged during this period. Its leading figures included Bridget Riley, Jesus Rafael Soto and Victor Vasarely. Despite their differences, these artists combined lines, geometric shapes, and eye popping colour to created optical effects and illusions. Kinetic art was closely associated with Op Art, encompassing art utilising motors, moving elements and sources of energy to challenge art as a static form.

These artists saw the viewer not as passive spectator but as active participant, engaging with art in real time and space. Their works often trigger complex visual sensations, activated by the viewer’s perception of shape, colour and pattern. Sometimes this effect was intensified with the inclusion of

TATE COLLECTION EXHIBITION

The exhibition is a journey into art of the 20 th century, weaving together artists closely associated with this movement as well as its modernist

predecessors and contemporary art. It touches upon important groups of artists who chose to work together in collectives and as research groups including GRAV, Zero, Signals and New Tendencies; as well as critical exhibitions including Le mouvement in Paris (1955) and The Responsive Eye at MoMA (1963). The exhibition follows two parallel, but interconnected tracks on the development of Op and Kinetic Art. Organized in a non-linear, non-chronological fashion, the exhibition moves in and out of expansive views of this history as well as deep dives into specific groups and artists.

Together, the exhibition aims to broaden the scope of Op and Kinetic art as a tendency embraced by artists throughout different times and in different geographies to stimulate viewer’s perception and take art into new dimensions. Curated by Clara Kim, The Daskalopoulos Senior Curator, International Art with Matthew Watts, Curatorial Assistant, Collection Exhibitions. The project is managed by Katie Chester, Project Manager, Collection Exhibitions.

COLOUR/GEOMETRY/OPTICAL

Victor Vasarely (1909-77 Hunga rian-French) Banya 1964 Goua che on hardboard T00753

Victor Vasarely (1909-77 Hungarian-French) Supernovae, 1959-60 Oi l on canvas T00676

COLOUR/GEOMETRY/OPTICAL

Oskar Fischinger (1900–1967 Germa ny/US) Untitled, 1952 Oi l pa int on ca nvas T14558

COLOUR/GEOMETRY/OPTICAL

Jesús Rafael Soto (1923-2005 Venezuela) Twelve Blacks and Four Silvers, 1965 Wood a nd metal T03769

COLOUR/GEOMETRY/OPTICAL Color is not simply the color of things nor the color of form. It is an evolving situation, a reality which acts on the human being with the same intensity as cold, heat, sound, etc. It is a raw perception... Carlos Cruz-Diez, 1975

Carlos Cruz-Diez (1923-2019 Venezuela) Physichromie No. 113, 1963, recons tructed 1976 Pa i nted a luminium and s tainless s teel T02094

GROUPE DE RECHERCHE D'ART VISUEL GRAV, 1960-8 We want to make audiences show an interest, shed their inhibitions, and relax. We want them to take part. We want to place them in situations they can trigger and transform. We want them to be aware of their participation. We want them to tend towards interaction with other audiences members. We want to help audiences develop their ability to perceive and act. -GRAV ‘Enough with the Mystifications!’ 1963 For the Third Paris Biennale

Jul i o Le Pa rc, Conti nual Mobile, i nstalled at the Bi ennale de Pa ris, 1963 © Archi ves Julio Le Pa rc

Groupe de Recherche d’Art Vi suel, A Day in the Street, 1966 Ma p © Archi ves Julio Le Pa rc

GROUPE DE RECHERCHE D'ART VISUEL GRAV, 1960-8

Julio Le Parc (b.1928 Argentina) Continual Mobile, Continual Light, 1963 Pa i nted wood, a luminium, nylon thread T00678

Julio Le Parc (b.1928 Argentina) Virtual Forms in Various Situations 1965 Wood, a luminium and polystyrene T03774

GROUPE DE RECHERCHE D'ART VISUEL GRAV, 1960-8

Jean-Pierre Yvaral (1934-2002 French) Ambiguous Structure No. 92, 1969 Acryl i c on chipboard T13900

GROUPE DE RECHERCHE D'ART VISUEL GRAV, 1960-8

Francisco Sobrino (1932-2014 Argentina) Indefinite Spaces S, 1963 Pers pex T00715

François Morellet (1928-2016 Fra nce) Two Warps and Wefts of Short Lines 0 degrees 90 degrees, 1955–6 Oi l on canvas T01840

VIEW FROM NORTH AMERICA THE RESPONSIVE EYE, MOMA, 1965

Max Bill (1908-94 Swi tzerland) Accents from six zones, 1955 Oi l paint on canvas T15559

Ca ta logue of The Responsive Eye a t the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 23 Feb – 25 Apri l 1965, © Mus eum of Modern Art Archi va l footage: Mi ke Wallace CBS television special on a udience responses to the exhi bition, 1965 https://vimeo.com/214165297

Josef Albers (1888-1976 Germa ny/US) Homage to the Square: Study for Nocturne, 1951 Oi l paint on wood T12215