Dinamica circolare 6ZNN

Exploiting the hypnotic effects of black and white lines and the kinetic properties of the circles, Dinamica circolare 6ZNN (Dynamic circular 6ZNN) is a captivating example of Marina Apollonio's Optical Art. Apollonio trained as a painter at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, subsequently starting a career in architecture. In the early 1960s, however, she begun experimenting with purely visual means, sharing the interests and intentions of Optical artists, such as Getulio Alviani and those of the international group Nova Tendencija 3. Executed in 1966, Dinamica circolare 6ZNN is set on a spinning board, which, when activated, animates the surface with movement and an illusionistic sense of depth and relief, defying the stillness and flatness of the painted surface. In its structure, Dinamica circolare 6ZNN seems to pay homage to Marcel Duchamp's 1935 Rotoreliefs: striped disks of paper which he mounted spinning on a record player, to create their entrancing games of false perspectives.
In 2007, Apollonio had the chance to expand the concept of Dinamica circolare 6ZNN into a room installation. On the occasion of the major retrospective 'Op Art' at The Schirn Kunsthalle, Apollonio was commissioned to execute Spazio ad attivazione cinetica, a giant rotation spiral, installed in the rotunda of the Kunsthalle, on which visitors could walk on, in order to experience optical art in space. The idea for an immersive experience of optical art had come to Apollonio in the late 1960s, probably inspired by the dazzling effects of works such as Dinamica circolare 6ZNN. With its commanding visual effects, Dinamica circolare 6ZNN articulates a paradoxical relationship between the viewer and the work: although designed to match the retinal behaviour of the human eye, the painted surface still dominates the viewer's perception with its magnetic effect of illusion and speed.