Boulouss

Victor Vasarely’s lithograph "Boulouss" radiates energy outward from the center of the image to the viewer’s eye. The centrifugal design creates an illusion of movement, rendered through a circular grid and a geometric composition of contrasting red and green tones. In "Boulouss", the sequential pattern of circles, which grow larger in size as they approach the center of the image, evokes a dynamic, three-dimensional space that appears to simultaneously recede and expand. This effect is amplified by four luminous, triangular forms pointing inward. The optical tension that results from these visual effects engages the viewer through a dynamic experience in which a two-dimensional image produces the illusion of motion. The emphasis that Op art placed on the experiential aspect of art laid the groundwork for the development of new tendencies in modern art that privileged sensory, rather than cognitive, experience.

This text was created in collaboration with the University of Maryland Department of Art History & Archaeology and written by Patricia Ortega-Miranda.