As a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Henry Pearson’s job was to make topographical maps of Japan. He brought this mapmaking experience with him when he subsequently moved to New York to study art and later became a leading figure in the Op Art movement. The topographical map, a two-dimensional representation of three- dimensional space, parallels the inherent tension in art between the two-dimensional surface of a print or painting and the illusion of depth generated through line and color. The undulating purple stripes in this work draw the eye not only up and down as they trace pathways from the top of the paper to the bottom, but also left and right as the lines sway laterally. Spacious areas with few lines appear to swell and enter the viewer’s space; conversely, the dense areas of line form tight pockets that burrow themselves below the picture’s surface.
–When We Were Young: Rethinking Abstraction From The University At Albany Art Collections (1967-Present)