on and from escher

'Day and Night' by M C Escher

the first time i saw an escher painting (or if you want, a lithograph/wood engraving/picture), i felt like i had been hit by a thunderbolt. nothing, and i mean nothing, had ever made every pore of my body ask "How can this be?". as i hungrily devoured his other works, the question continued to be evoked, with as much force. i am no connossieur of art. my "appreciation" is akin to that of the layperson. in that sense, i have no great gyan or analysis to offer. this post is simply to express my immense liking for and inspiration from escher.

there are many of his images that i enjoy engaging with. 'Ascending and descending', 'Drawing hands', 'Heaven and hell', the 'Metamorphosis' series, 'Waterfall', 'Sky and water'...the list is long. all these are geomentrically accurate and yet, intrinsically, full of contradictions. if u have seen them, u know what i mean. they seem illusory: u begin at one point and as u follow it, u end up at a place that seems wrong or impossible. they are a remarable manifestation of 'cognitive polyphasia', the idea that conflicting, inconsitent forms of thought can co-exist. some of his other paintings focus on reptiles. i have always found the reptilia class quite disgusting and spontaneously recoil from its members. so i was truly amazed to find myself drawn to this set of paintings as well.

to be continued...