“Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?” M. C. Escher once said when referring to how he develops his artwork. In many of M. C. Escher’s artwork, Escher messes with people’s brains by using common assumptions about the world and flipping them on their head. Through Escher’s lifetime, he develops unique style inspired by mathematics to make illusions and optically complex pieces that make the viewer think deeply about the piece. Yet closed off by the world, M. C. Escher influences many mathematicians and artists through his thought provoking pieces. Through mental assumptions and geometry, M. C. Escher creates mathematically inspired art that challenges what people think as possible. In particular, Escher’s Bond of Union explores the infinite complexities of mathematics and relationships.
In the art piece Bond of Union, Escher uses complex geometric designs and human qualities to create a connection between the shapes in the piece. The spiral spheres in the center of the painting connect showing the bond between man and woman. He uses familiar shapes to create comfort and intrigue in the piece. Escher uses the dark shading and lighting to create an immersive atmosphere and focuses on the faces in the print. His use of shapes and repetition enforce the concept that the faces have a bond with each other because every other sphere lacks personality. Escher uses the shapes to describe relationships between people as complex and confusing but somehow works. Escher style of mental imagery transform this print because the complex geometry and advanced lighting create thoughts inside the audience about the meaning and the importance of relationships. What does M. C. Escher do to create these mind bending art pieces and how have they challenged the way people view art.
In order to understand why M. C. Escher was able to produce mind-bending prints, we need to understand where Escher grew up. M. C. Escher was born in Holland and his father was a civil engineer. He wanted to be an architect so he applied to the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem. While at college, Escher discovered his passion for drawing geometric shapes and making mind bending art. Escher moved to Rome and started drawing roman architecture and Italian Countryside. His early art featured heavy Italian influence. With many of his prints, Escher would experiment with lighting and how it was received by the viewer. In 1935, Escher left Italy and started to focus more on “mental imagery” than on landscapes. He dove into metamorphosis and complex architecture mazes like his famous print
Relativity. Living in scenic environments and his passion for architecture leads M. C Escher to create art that inspires both beauty and complexity.
Many people have researched M. C. Escher’s work and look at how he creates illusions that look impossible. Researchers have broken down M. C. Escher’s works into five impossible shapes that mess with the brain. Escher uses these shapes with illusions to create complex architecture that confuses the brain. The five types of impossible images that Escher exhibits in his art use the triangle, the stairway, the fork, the Escher Cube and the Steps. Escher uses these images in almost every piece he creates. By adding these pieces to his artwork Escher creates thoughts inside the audience as they try to comprehend the art. Many people can look at his art for hours because of the intricate design and details. For example, M. C. Escher’s famous piece, Belvedere. This piece uses impossible images to create a complexing tower. While observing the structure, one can observe the building’s foundation is built as an Escher Cube. The supports in this piece lie both behind and in front of each other, creating an illusion that messes with the brain. Escher’s uses of this cube was not the only shape he master in his art career.
Another example of impossible shapes used in Escher’s art can be found the Waterfall. In this painting Escher focuses on the impossible triangle. He uses the assumption of gravity to mess with the audience’s minds as the water flows up the duct. Either the water must be going up the duct and down the waterfall or down the duct and up the waterfall. Both of the scenarios that the audience sees establish logically impossible interpretations. Throughout this piece, the brain to constantly try to comprehend it as one looks at it. Escher wants the audience to think about his pieces more so he creates these optical illusions to trick the audience. However since the piece lacks possibility the brain will never fully comprehend what happens in the piece. One must research and dive into why the brain claims this piece cannot exist in reality. Escher takes the basic idea of a duct and spins it to create a mind bending puzzle.
Our last image focusing on impossible images can be found Escher’s Ascending and Descending. This piece conveys the impossible staircase. In one direction, the pathway always rises while in the other direction the pathway always falls. This contradicts the natural law of order tricking the brain into these optical illusions. Escher refers to this piece as a “trick” because the audience can imagine a building that would be built like this. Escher’s uses the impossible staircase to create the illusion of movement and rise and fall in his create. By putting this in his creation it gives the audience the illusion that the piece constantly changes and encourages the audience to look deeper into the print. Escher’s mastery of impossible shapes boosts him into art history because he was able to create things people thought were impossible.
Escher not only uses impossible shapes in his artwork, he also uses unique themes to create intrigue in the audience. By theming his art, Escher can resonate with his audience more and make a lasting impact. Escher was interested in the impossible and what others comprehend and that reflects in his pieces. He wanted to challenge the natural assumptions of the audience and the more the audience studied the art the more they would find. His love for “tricking” and creating optical illusions allows Escher to create meaningful art that will be appreciated by many. For example, the piece Relativity uses the theme of relativity to create a unique piece of art. This outstanding piece perfectly describes relative as a theme. The piece features many staircases that wrap around to create a masterpiece. At first glance this piece looks impossible, however upon further inspection, one can comprehend the piece. Bruno Ernst, author of “The Magic of M. C. Escher,” broke down this print into three categories: left-learners, right-learners, and uprights. Each kind inhabits their own environment properly and that creates three possible views for the piece. The piece creates what seems like an impossible image with three different universes with different gravities at the same time. Escher uses these three views to create a different piece for everyone who sees the print. The multiple views cause the piece to constantly change as the audience inspects it. With mastery of relativism, Escher creates three different world within the same print that creates a unique experience for the viewer.
Another theme Escher experiments with through his art career focuses on the transition between 2D and 3D. Escher creates many pieces that combine two dimensional world with three dimensional worlds. In the piece, Print gallery, Escher has a boy looking at a two dimensional painting that becomes a three dimensional town. This strange piece uses the contradiction of dimensional shifts to confuse the audience. The shifts between dimensions creates an illusion that the audience looks at the gallery painting when in reality one is observing the piece inside a piece. This confuses piece conveys the magic of diving into an undiscovered piece and becoming part of its world. This illusion of dimensions inspires the audience to look at each painting like it’s an actual world and not just a painting. Escher’s use of dimensions create an impossible image that summarizes his experiences with art.
The last theme discussed in this post will focus on inversion or having the characteristics of two separate things but not being full one thing. Escher uses this confusing theme in many prints to invoke thought and challenge the audience. A good example of this theme happens in his piece, Cube with Magic Ribbon. This piece looks simple at first glance by having a cube with a ribbon inside it. However upon further inspection, the ribbons actually create two Mobius strips that loop throughout the print. The ribbon uses inversion because the ribbon looks as if it lies either inside or outside the cube and either on one side or the other side. This mind bending puzzle’s simplicity and polish makes it seem easy to figure yet it still confuses the audience. Escher’s use of themes develop creations that seem impossible to conceive.
In conclusion, Escher’s art has become well know all over the world for being confusing and mathematical. His use of geometry and mental assumptions, Escher leads the audience into a world where anything can be what the person sees. His art has inspired people all over the world and challenges the minds of his audience. Through M. C. Escher’s life he was surrounded by great architecture and using his passion for architecture, Escher created some of the most important pieces in art history. In the piece, Bond of Union, Escher’s thought invoking style has made people question what their eyes see. M. C. Escher enjoys challenging the audiences’ assumption of possibility by tricking them with their assumptions and geometry.
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