THE MATHEMATICAL ART OF M.C.ESCHER
Eight Heads (tessellation)
HISTORY
When was this piece created?
This piece was created by Escher in 1922 while he was still attending the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem. It is a woodcut.
IMPORTANCE
What is the importance/value of this piece?
The main purpose of this piece was a first print to demonstrate his theory of the regular division of a plane. Escher cut eight heads -- four male and four female -- in the original wood block. The final image was achieved by printing the block four times.
MATHEMATICAL CONNECTION
Do you see a connection to mathematics? If so, explain the mathematics used in this piece.
There is a mathematical connection, but strictly only through transformation. There are rotations in the piece, but mainly it is just a pattern, or, a tessellation.
PERSONAL FEELINGS
What most amazes/interests you about this piece?
The thing that I like about this piece is how optical illusions create every next part of the picture. The man's coat goes directly into the woman.
Do you think you could create a similar version?
If I created a version of this, it would be heavily misconstrued, so if I attempted to render a similarity, it would be much more simplified.