Crafting the morphing motifs of phoenix as water and the altering goldfishes as the sky, amplifies the harmonisation powers of these symbols. Goldfishes represent good fortune, prosperity, and abundance. The phoenix signifies peace, prosperity and is said to rebirth out of ash symbolising the constant striving spirit. Whilst the basis of tessellation formula is retained, the design of the illustrations are phoenixes and goldfishes – both creatures have strong symbolism in the Chinese customs and folklore. The Escher exhibition is the headliner, but it is paired with something of similar interest:Ĭlocks for Seeing: Photography, Time and Motionconsiders the relationship between time and photography through a selection of historical and contemporary photographs that encompass practices ranging from science to art.PHOENI x FISH is an allusion to Sky and Water II by Dutch artist M. Some such geometry is alluded to in this whimsical homage to Escher from the National Film Board It turns out there’s a hefty element of self-taught intricate geometry/math involved, which makes his accomplishments all the more interesting for those who like those subjects, or their practical applications. Many an observer of Excher’s art has wondered how he managed it. Fenwick Memorial Lecture, Thursday, March 5th at 6 pm. I ask him, what was your father like? George thinks for a moment and says simply, “He was the most down-to-earth person that I’ve ever known.”įor anyone who is interested, George Escher will give a talk about his father’s life and art as part of the annual Kathleen M.

George donated more than 200 of his father’s works to the National Gallery in the 1980s and 1990s, and many of them are in this exhibition. “He loved fish and birds, and anything else that fitted together,” says George Escher, the artist’s 88-year-old son, who moved to Canada from the Netherlands in the 1950s and now lives in Stittsville. Here’s more on George Escher and his father, in a detailed article (with video) from the Ottawa Citizen’s Peter Simpson: Well, it turns out that one of Escher’s sons, George, now lives in a suburb of urban Ottawa. Until recently, I was unaware of any connection between M. Gift of George Escher, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, 1990, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Escher, Relativity, July 1953, lithograph on cream laid japan paper. The museum is open and the underground parking lot is accessible.)Įscher stands out in at least two memorable ways, the aforementioned tessellation patterns, and his ability to draw connections that make no sense, yet seemingly work. Escher: The Mathemagician, at Ottawa’s National Gallery of Canada. (Do not be dismayed by construction on Sussex Drive. Which is why fans will want to know about an exhibit open now through May 3rd: M.C. In mathematics, tessellations can be generalized to higher dimensions.” Tessellations = “A tessellation of a flat surface is the tiling of a plane using one or more geometric shapes, called tiles, with no overlaps and no gaps. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Wikipedia summarizes Escher’s work thusly:

Escher, a Dutch graphic artist who lived from 1898 to 1972. That’s one way to rank Maurits Cornelis Escher, or M. Some art is uniquely recognizable, even if we don’t remember who the artist was. Escher’s “Sky and Water I” © 2014 The M.C. Escher, Sky and Water I, June 1938, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, M.C.

M. c. escher tessellation sky and water