Art and Perception-Yikes!

Okay...so school started last night. My first class this semester is art, my first writing assignment is a research paper on...
Richard Anuszkiewicz. I have always (somewhat secretly) prided myself in knowing a little about a lot...I try to be somewhat current on all things pop culture....music, literature, and yes...art. I can usually carry on a conversation about almost anything. Last night, however, I was stumped. All the other "kids"...non-traditional students just like me...were assigned artists I had heard of...Mary Cassat, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Edward Hopper (one of my favorites), Jackson Pollock...the list goes on and on. Out of the list of 40 artists, my assignment was one I had never heard of. My usual mode of operation is to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to do a paper. I "think" about what I'm going to write, and finally just sit down and write it. Not this time...since I have no knowledge of this assignment, I need to more than just think...I did a mini-web search of "my" artist. Hmmm...Op(tical) Art...again, definitely not one of my favorites. Frankly, when I look at most of the art I found online by my guy, I see...Quilt Patterns.
Wish me luck...