OP ART

OP ART or Optical Illusion Art is artwork designed to create the illusion of movement, hidden images, the impression of flashing or shimmering areas, warping, swellings and other illusions created by applying basic art principles in clever ways.
The elements and principles most emphasized in OP Art are: lines (curvy, straight, converging), tones (shading, extreme contrast), shapes (patterns, repetition and overlapping).

 

The term OP Art wasn't coined until the mid 1960s, however artists certainly explored these phenomenons before then. One of everyone's favorite artists whose work provided inspiration for the Op art movement of the 60s was MC Escher. He liked playing with the techniques of perspective drawing in order to use depth as a way of fooling the viewer into believing what they see in spite the impossibility of it.