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Name: Thomas Gordon

School: Hampshire Collegiate School

Town: Romsey

County: Hants

Year: Year 13

Inspiration: This piece of work arose from the collaboration between Modernism and Op Art. As I investigated Modernist architecture such as Le Corbusier and ‘The Bauhaus’, I stumbled across an origami structure that was used by architects for roofing designs. Its sharp angles and simple design captured my imagination. I started making these shapes from A1 paper. As I experimented, I began drawing patterns on the paper and when photographed the 2 dimensional images conveyed a bold illusion of 3 dimensions. I found Op Art closely connected my images with artists such as Bridget Riley influencing me further to produce paintings. During my investigation of Modernism, I visited the South Bank Centre and became interested in the subcategory ‘Brutalism’. The crumbling concrete of the South Bank had a pronounced ‘grunge’ and distressed look that I decided to integrate into my own work.

Title: Op Art Distressed

Description: The piece is simply done in black and white acrylic (common colours used in OP Art) onto a base of MDF. This use of contrast allows the edges to be seen more easily, so the effect of depth is more pronounced. The use of black carpet tape and paper were incorporated to facilitate the distressing of the surface, which was produced by burning with a blow torch. This makes the piece seem worn out and damaged and relates to Brutalism’s use of concrete weathered by time. Nails and staples fired from a staple gun were also added to the surface to reinforce the theme of construction.

Medium: Mixed Media

Width: 61 Height: 104

Keywords: Op Art, Bauhaus, Brutalism, Distressed