Masters of Deception:
Escher, Dalí & the Artists of
Optical Illusion
by Al Seckel
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Optical illusion art, created by such innovative artists
as M.C. Escher and Salvador Dali, confuses the eye with
visual paradoxes, from vibrating effects to moire
patterns. Bring together a remarkable tapestry of words
and illustrations, Masters of Deception celebrates more
than 400 years of the art form that defies expectation.
Some of the finest and most prominent optical illusion
work in a range of genres can be seen together for the
first time in this unique retrospective. One of the most
unusual and distinctive painters in the history of
western art, Giuseppe Arcimboldo is best know for
composite portraits made up of varied natural and
manmade objects. Viewers of Dali’s dream-like work each
find different meaning in his imaginatively hidden
surreal images. A master at illustrating figures,
situations, and processes that can’t possibly exist in
the real world, Sandro Del Prete challenges how we
usually view an object or scene. Escher’s work appeals
to both mind and soul, whether it’s “Ascending and
Descending,” which depicts an impossible staircase or
“Day and Night,” perhaps the most admired example of
tessellating and morphing figures and tiling the visual
plane. Scott Kim’s “Ambigrams,” Guido Moretti’s
“Transforming Sculptures,” and Rex Whistler’s
“Inversions” are among the other masterful illusions
featured in this wide-ranging volume. The brilliance of
perfect optical illusions come strikingly close to life
in this stunning work of art. From Escher to Muniz, Dali
to Gonsalves, the world’s masters of visual and
perceptual illusions are showcased for your delight. |
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The
artists featured (full biographical information about
each artist and their works) are given in each chapter
devoted to the featured artist. The artists are:
Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Composite Portraits); Salvador Dali
(Visual Surprise); Sandro Del Prete (A Change of
Perspective); Jos De Mey (Paradoxical Worlds); M.C.
Escher (Master of Mind and Soul); Shigeo Fukuda (Visual
Scandal); Robert Gonsalves (Magic Realism); Mathieu
Hamaekers (Optical Constructivism); Scott Kim (Ambigrams);
Akiyoshi Kitaoka (Illusion Op Art); Ken Knowlton (Mosaic
Portraits); Guido Moretti (Transforming Sculptures); Vik
Muniz (A Change in Medium); Octovio Ocampo (Metamorphic
Art); Istvan Orosz (Anamorphoses); John Pugh (Trompe
L’Oeil); Oscar Reutersvard (Impossible Figures); Roger
Shepard (Mind Sights); Dick Termes (Spherical Worlds);
Rex Whistler (Inversions). The book also contains an
introduction that covers the historical tradition of
illusionary art.
Needless to say, there is a tremendous amount of
unpublished works and images in this volume. Many
artists are featured here for the first time in print.
There are just TERRIFIC illusions in this book!
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