Blaze 1

As a leading member of the Op Art movement, Bridget Riley is intrigued with how vision functions. In her work, she explores the illusionistic effects that a repeated pattern of shapes and color can have on the human eye. Blaze 1 simulates the visual sensation of rhythmic, undulating movement with zigzag forms that appear to spiral deeper into space. As the brain interprets this image, the alternating forms seem to shift forward and backward simultaneously. Riley’s images have often been referred to as aggressive assaults on the eye, as they force one to follow a curving pattern around and around until it finally terminates into a narrow opening at the center of the composition. Observers have also commented that this print produces an electric charge that transforms the viewer’s experience from one of passive witness to participant in an interactive event. In speaking about her art, Riley has said, “My work has developed on the basis of empirical analyses and syntheses, and I have always believed that perception is the medium through which states of being are directly experienced.”