Product Description

Bridget Riley's Op art paintings are icons of the 1960s, and fascinate art lovers as much now as they did then. Their central position in the art history of the period has not been generally explored, however - until now. In this new book, based on eight years' research, Frances Follin examines contemporary reviews of Riley's work to reveal the complex associations between these paintings and the culture in which they were produced. Far from being the peripheral art form that some later accounts have presented, Follin shows how Riley's Op work occupies a key position in debates on modernism in the arts and in the future of Western societies. She explores the ways in which Riley's work relates in unexpected and subtle ways to the other art of the period, from Happenings to Minimalism, to earlier art such as Pollock's and to later developments in postmodernism, and to areas of culture that might seem to have little to do with art at all, such as the 'space race' or the development of the hippy culture. As Embodied Visions so deftly illustrates, Riley's art is a point of focus at which many strands of art and cultural history come together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2151960 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

Customer Reviews

Embodied visions - author's message
Yes, I know I can't review my own book but I have tried several times to get the description below posted in the usual place and every time I fail. I would like you to read my book!
Bridget Riley's Op paintings are icons of the 1960s, and still fascinate art lovers. Their central position in the art history of the period has not been explored, however, until now. This new book examines contemporary reviews of Riley's work to reveal the complex associations between these paintings and the culture of the 1960s. Far from being the peripheral art form that later accounts have presented, Riley's Op work occupies a key position in debates on modernism in the arts and in the future of Western societies. Follin explores the ways in which Riley's work relates in unexpected and subtle ways to the other art of the period, from Happenings to Minimalism, to earlier art such as Pollock's and to later developments in postmodernism, and to areas of culture that might seem to have little to do with art, such as the 'space race' or hippy culture. As Embodied Visions so deftly illustrates, Riley's art is a point of focus at which many strands of art and cultural history come together.