Op-art stands for optical art – the style in fine arts where the paintings do not offer you the reality per se, or an artist’s perception of the reality, as it is true about the “big” styles. A pop-art artist depicts movement without a moving object – and you just have fun with it.

A human eye sees flat and 3-D objects differently using different perception mechanisms. Op-art studies these mechanisms and patterns. Then, using artistic tools and techniques only, with the help of colours, forms and lines they produce optical effects, illusions of movement on the canvas through inducing blips in the works of our visual apparatus. Another peculiarity of the style lies in its background. While others rely on the systems of philosophical and aesthetic principles, op-art is based on scientific research in the field of psychology, and as such it does not compete for the hearts and the minds of the viewers. In its manifest of 1961 they claim as follows: «Enough with paintings that are meant to be exclusive – for a cultural eye, for a sensitive eye, for an intellectual eye, for aesthetic eye, for an amateur eye and what not. A human eye – that is our starting point». The basic function of op-art as a style in fine arts is mainly decorative, it is widely popular in design and printing industry.