{"id":13106,"date":"2014-12-27T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2014-12-27T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=13106"},"modified":"2014-12-26T09:13:12","modified_gmt":"2014-12-26T14:13:12","slug":"m-c-escher-exhibit-opens-in-ottawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2014\/12\/27\/m-c-escher-exhibit-opens-in-ottawa\/","title":{"rendered":"M.C. Escher exhibit opens in Ottawa"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"M.C.<\/a>

M.C. Escher, Sky and Water I, June 1938, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, M.C. Escher\u2019s \u201cSky and Water I\u201d \u00a9 2014 The M.C. Escher Company-The Netherlands. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com. Photo \u00a9 NGC.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some art is uniquely recognizable, even if we don’t remember who the artist was.<\/p>\n

That’s one way to rank Maurits Cornelis Escher, or M. C. Escher<\/a>, a\u00a0Dutch graphic artist who lived from 1898 to 1972.<\/p>\n

Wikipedia<\/a> summarizes Escher’s work thusly:<\/p>\n

He is known for his often\u00a0mathematically<\/a>\u00a0inspired\u00a0woodcuts<\/a>,\u00a0lithographs<\/a>, and\u00a0mezzotints<\/a>. These feature\u00a0impossible constructions<\/a>, explorations of\u00a0infinity<\/a>, architecture, and\u00a0tessellations<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tessellations = “A\u00a0tessellation<\/b>\u00a0of a flat surface is the tiling of a\u00a0plane<\/a>\u00a0using one or more geometric shapes, called tiles, with no overlaps and no gaps. In\u00a0mathematics<\/a>, tessellations can be generalized to higher dimensions.”<\/p>\n

Many find Escher’s art mesmerizing. Which is why fans will want to know about\u00a0an exhibit open now through May 3rd:\u00a0M.C. Escher: The Mathemagician<\/a>,\u00a0at Ottawa’s\u00a0National Gallery of Canada<\/a>.\u00a0(Do not be dismayed by construction on Sussex Drive. The museum is open and the underground parking lot is accessible.)<\/p>\n

Escher 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.<\/p>\n

\"M.C.<\/a>

M.C. Escher, Relativity, July 1953, lithograph on cream laid japan paper. Gift of George Escher, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, 1990, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. M.C. Escher\u2019s \u201cRelativity\u201d \u00a9 2014 The M.C. Escher Company-The Netherlands. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com. Photo \u00a9 NGC.<\/p><\/div>\n

Until recently, I was unaware of any connection between M. C. Escher and Canada. Well, it turns out that one of Escher’s sons, George, now lives in a suburb of urban Ottawa.<\/p>\n

Here’s more on George Escher and his father<\/a>, in a detailed article (with video) from the Ottawa Citizen’s Peter Simpson:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved fish and birds, and anything else that fitted together,\u201d says George Escher, the artist\u2019s 88-year-old son, who moved to Canada from the Netherlands in the 1950s and now lives in Stittsville. George donated more than 200 of his father\u2019s works to the National Gallery in the 1980s and 1990s, and many of them are in this exhibition. I ask him, what was your father like? George thinks for a moment and says simply, \u201cHe was the most down-to-earth person that I\u2019ve ever known.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For anyone who is interested, George Escher will give a talk about his father’s life and art as part of the annual\u00a0Kathleen M. Fenwick Memorial Lecture, Thursday, March 5th at 6 pm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many an observer of Excher’s art has wondered how he managed it. It turns out there’s a hefty element of self-taught intricate geometry\/math<\/a> involved, which makes his accomplishments all the more interesting for those who like those subjects, or their practical applications.<\/p>\n

Some such geometry is alluded to in this whimsical homage to Escher from the National Film Board<\/p>\n