Victor Vasarely - Fondation Vasarely

on the democratisation of art, remains steeped in a positive
and progressive attitude towards technology, society and
the spirit of art. He felt that the uniqueness of a work of art
and the artist’s personal involvement in its execution were
notions for the privileged. He worked in a manner that lent
itself to mass production by modern technical processes.
This may be regarded as a contradiction of sorts; to make
art that detracts from the uniqueness of the art object.
But unlike some artists, Vasarely bore no grudge against
popular culture, and he never felt any conflict about his
work. It wasn’t a question of compromising himself; it was
simply an opportunity to reach out to larger numbers of
people. His artistic agenda envisaged an integration of art in
everyday life, making it accessible to all. He was convinced
that people could be brought into a “unison of art and the
world”, by a direct appeal to visual perception. As a result,
he concentrated on optical effects. The art of spontaneous
experience.
I now seem to be having more luck with the knobs and
contour lines of the puzzle pieces. This is probably because
I’ve decided to interlock the edge pieces first. With this, I am
coming to realise that Vasarely’s art not only challenges our
perceptions, it has the potential to alert us to the complexity
of what we are already experiencing in the world around us.
His work is characterised by a conflict, resulting from the
eyes’ continual but vain attempt to make clear distinctions
between two contradictory states of perception. Speaking
in terms of perceptual psychology (Gestalt Theory), our
brains can discover alternate spatial solutions for the
same stimulus. Our experience of seeing the world in three
dimensions forces us to decide on one spatial solution
or another, without ever really coming to fix on one. To
test this, I put the jigsaw aside for a moment and take out
my notebook, and using a pencil, I draw out two identical
interlocking squares joined by four parallel lines (see fig. II,
p20). It is the famous Necker Cube (discovered in 1832 by
the Swiss crystallographer L. A. Necker). As I stare at the
drawing, one square appears at first to recede away from
me into the picture and the next to project itself out of it. It
is tiring to look at this image for any length of time, because
our brains are not capable of recognising two contradictory
structures - of seeing the image as actually flat on the page.
Vasarely refers to this effect as ‘Trompe-I’Ceil’ (perpetual
motion) or the “emotional shocks” that follow “one another
without intermission”. His paintings use a similar device,
which places such demands upon our vision, that our eyes,
as it were, become aware of their own workings, with our
vision becoming the true subject of the picture.
Lying before me now is an almost complete framework
of the jigsaw puzzle. Resting in my hand is the last corner
piece. It is my favourite piece, for with its laying will be
created the cyclic interlocking of pieces with no beginning
and no end. I see now, glimpses of the brilliance of its
structure. What fills the inside of the puzzle that is ‘Majus
MC’, I am still a little unsure, but I do know that it is diverse
and complicated. I have to admit that I am really beginning
to enjoy this puzzle, and at this moment, I feel closer now
than ever before to understanding the fundamental genius of
Vasarely – the master jigsaw maker. And it is beautiful!
John M. Cunningham
Regional Cultural Centre
Adrian Kelly
The Glebe House & Gallery
15