Hi ya! How's it going? Got a clear mind? Good. Help yourself to a mug of java and a virtual treat while I mess with your mind a little. Thanks to cousin Robin in England for sending me most of these illustrations. Not surprisingly, I have always been an Escher fan. I added the last illustration.
Maurits Cornelis Escher created unique and fascinating works of art that explore and exhibit a wide range of mathematical ideas.
He was born in Leeuwarden, Holland in 1898, and when he was in school
his family planned for him to follow his father’s career of
architecture. However, poor grades and an aptitude for drawing and
design eventually led him to a career in the graphic arts, specializing
in woodcuts, mezzotints, and lithographs.
His work went almost unnoticed until the 1950’s, but by 1956 he had given his first important exhibition, was written up in Time
magazine, and acquired a world-wide reputation. Among his greatest
admirers were mathematicians, who recognized in his work an
extraordinary visualization of mathematical principles. This was the
more remarkable in that Escher had no formal mathematics training beyond
secondary school.
His work eventually appeared not only in printed form, but as
commissioned or imitative sculptures on public buildings, as decorations
on everything from neckties to mousepads, and in software written to
automate the reproduction and manipulation of tesselations.
Reproductions of his work remain in strong demand, and he has inspired
thousands of other artists to pursue mathematical themes in their own
work. He is of course also much imitated.
As his work developed he drew great inspiration from the mathematical
ideas he read about, often working directly from structures in plane
and projective geometry, and eventually capturing the essence of
non-Euclidean geometries, as we will see below. He was also fascinated
with paradox and “impossible” figures, and used an idea of Roger
Penrose’s to develop many intriguing works of art. Thus, for the
student of mathematics, Escher’s work encompasses two broad areas: the
geometry of space, and what we may call the logic of space.
Here are some Escher creations to mess with your mind...
3. Is the door open to inside or outside?
4. Round or square?
5. How many, 3 or 4?
7. Rare construction. Seems to me I built something like that once by mistake!
8. The center beam disappears, look from left to right.
9. 2 or 3?
10. Waterfall...is the water falling?
Want to see more M C Escher art? Follow this link:
http://platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/
Your mind may never be the same!
See ya, eh!
Bob
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