I think ‘smart’ watches are clearly going to be the ‘next big thing’ with rumours of Apple bringing one out, Microsoft bringing one out (see bottom of post for the standard Microsoft gag) and so on.

One that is already out is the pebble watch developed by Pebble Technology and funded via Kickstarter.  The reception has been a bit lukewarm but improvements and additional functionality are beginning to emerge.  Recently Pebble community enthusiasts have released hundreds of new watch faces that you can download and install via GitHub and elsewhere.  There were 2 that really caught our attention because of the Op Art styling.  If you’ve got a Pebble, I strongly suggest downloading ‘Illusion‘ and ‘Squared‘.

Op Art Illusion Pebble watch face

Op Art Squared pebble watch face

Or if you want to wait for something with a more familiar feel to it, you can always wait until Microsoft bring out their smart watch…

Mexican artist Ramiro Chávez Tovar has created two new fantastic Op Art pieces that, like his previous works, play with your visual system and are as a result extremely difficult to look at for any length of time.  Both pieces are exceptional in their ability to create the illusion of movement.

The first of these is a tribute to the great Op Artist Victor Vasarely – ‘Ironic Homage 2 Vasarely’.  If you’re not familiar with what Vasarely looked like, that’s his face buried deep in the artwork.  If you can’t see it, try crossing and uncrossing your eyes and varying the distance between you and the screen.

Ironic Homage 2 Vasarely
Ramiro Chávez Tovar

Nested Spaces ii
Ramiro Chávez Tovar

Thanks as always to Ramiro for sending these in.  If you want to see more of Ramiro’s work have a look at his deviant art gallery.

If you have ever wondered what the big Op Art pieces by the major artists of the movement – such as Bridget Riley, Carlos Cruz-Diez or Victor Vasarely – sell for at auction then look below to see a list of the top 10 hammer prices at auction for Op Art works bought and sold during 2012.

The list is dominated by works by Carlos Cruz-Diez, Briget Riley, Jan Schoonhoven and Victor Vasarely.  All works were auctioned by various international offices of Sotheby’s and Christies.

1. Carlos Cruz-Diez – “PHYSICHROMIE 164” (1965). Estimate (Christies): GBP 164,000-229,000. Actual sale price was GBP473,000.

2. Bridget Riley – “Tabriz” (1984). Estimate (Sotheby’s): GBP 250,000 – 300,000. Actual sale price was GBP 457,250

3. Carlos Cruz-Diez – “Chromo-Interference Mécanique” (1979).  Estimate (Sotheby’s): GBP 229,000 – 295,000. Actual sale price was GBP 434,600.

4. Carlos Cruz-Diez – “Physichromie no. 1021” (1975).  Estimate (Sotheby’s):  GBP 164,000-229,000. Actual sale price was GBP 363,000.

5. Bridget Riley – “Cool Place” (1990). Estimate (Sotheby’s):  GBP 280,000-350,000. Actual sale price was GBP 337,250.

6. Jan Schoonhoven – “Diagonalen” (1967).  Estimate (Christies): GBP 154,000-188,000. Actual sale price was GBP268,000.

7. Jan Schoonhoven – “R70-72” (1970).  Estimate (Christies): GBP 171,000-257,000. Actual sale price was GBP268,000.

8. Jan Schoonhoven – “Drie In Één (Trois en Un)” (1966).  Estimate (Sotheby’s): GBP 171,000-257,000. Actual sale price was GBP257,000.

9. Carlos Cruz-Diez – “Physichromie no. 655” (1973).  Estimate (Sotheby’s):  GBP 115,000-148,000. Actual sale price was GBP 190,000.

10. Victor Vasarely – “Cheyt-Stri” (1971).  Estimate (Sotheby’s): GBP 80,000-120,000. Actual sale price was GBP 187,250.

With the popularity of Op Art based patterns and styles currently exploding in the fashion world it wasn’t going to be long before that was applied to other areas of design such as home interiors.  South African magazine House and Leisure have created a fascinating modern take on a 1960s room based on high contrast black and white stripes as part of what they call the Op Art Trend.  They’ve also created a time-lapse video so you can see how the effect was achieved.

View the post on House and Leisure here.

Samm Hodges has released the first in an 8 part video entitled Illusions.  The opening few minutes shows graphically how some common illusions (such as the spinning dancer and the Necker cube) actually work and is set to some great music by artists like Christian Fennesz.  I’d highly recommend this interesting video.

Illusions (part one) from Animal on Vimeo

Written and Directed by Samm Hodges
Produced by Phinehas Hodges
Director of Photography: Brad Knull
Animation by Samm Hodges and Lenny Wilson
Dancer: Kelsey Bartman
Narrator: Bingo O’Malley
Additional Photography: Matt Meehan
Edited by Samm Hodges
Production Company: Animal
Shot on location in Santiago, Chile and Pittsburgh, PA.