Careful! Don't hurt your brain looking at these. Better yet, warp your brain into another dimension.
It's easy to get dizzy just looking at these objects, trying to process how could they possibly be constructed and where is the mysterious "hidden joint, gap or break"? Today we are going to look at various shape, color, shadow and 3D perspective illusions:
They will not make your dizzy, but they will make you doubt your eyes a few times. In some cases, the factual colors are so hard to believe, that you would need to bring them into Photoshop and actually measure the color values. Let's start with a well-known illusion, which still amazes me every time I look at it:
Believe it or not, square A and B are actually the same color! -
The "brown" tile on the floor and the "yellow" tile in the middle of the cube's side facing to the left ARE THE SAME COLOR! Hard to believe... here is another one.
The next one is rather less known, and also very weird: The Angry Face! - Click here to see this illusion...
2. Reflective Art & Mirror Illusions
These drawings seem to be (more or less) normal depictions of shipwrecks and storms, but if you put a cylindrical mirror on top of them, you'll see a Jules Verne portrait, or Walt Disney's face... (more of these here)
Best examples of "reflective illusions" we've seen so far:
(original unknown)
3. Fake 3D Perspectives & Impossible 3D Sculptures
A classic example of topologically unique sculptures is the Moebius Strip. Emmanuel Lattes made probably the best representation of it in recent memory: 3D Printed Double Moebius Strip (more info) -
Another artist who makes topologically confounding objects is Bulatov. See the whole gallery of his works made from steel and bronze (bottom row - made from wood):
As for the visually impossible 3D sculptures, well, they are not so much "impossible", in a sense that all these structures do exist. They're just "specially designed" to morph into geometrically impossible forms when seen at a particular viewing angle:
French magician Francis Tabary created many such strange objects, some placed in an outdoor garden environment - all of them head-scratching and eye-catching examples of 3D optical illusions:
This image shows how this "impossible doghouse" was constructed. Just as you guessed, it's all about strategically placed gaps and a particular point of view:
(originals unknown)
The "Impossible Dice" and the "Disappearing Column" by extremely inventive Japanese artist Shigeo Fukuda:
Computer-generated objects (even though they're just models) still hold a certain fascination and curiosity to the eye. Josh Sommers makes impossible objects look classy and even Art Deco-ish:
Shigeo Fukuda is famously known for creating a few completely mind-boggling Shadow Sculptures. The beautiful shadow shapes appear out of the complete chaos, out of the seemingly random piles of junk:
Again, sublime reflections and shadows - to fit every mood:
(originals unknown)
5. Impossible Architecture and Interior Design
"The Waterfall" falls firmly into the category of impossible sculptures, bringing to life the famous painting by M.C. Escher - see the original here. On the right is the same structure replicated in... LEGO (more info):
6. Not what it seems! Masterpieces of 3D Street Pavement Art
Kurt Wenner is the foremost practitioner of this popular urban art subgenre. He paints epic, spiritual and inspiring 3D canvases on the humble street pavement, which fit perfectly in European cities, among Gothic cathedrals and gorgeous architecture:
("Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)" - images credit: Kurt Wenner)
J. Beever has accumulated quite a portfolio of street paintings over the years. They are dizzying, strange, often humorous... Again, these so called "anamorphic illusions" create an impression of three dimensions only when seen at a particular angle:
The "Crevasse" (above left) may have been inspired by the art of Julian Beever, but it is an independent and astonishing work by German artist Edgar Mueller - see more examples here.
Sometimes a particular advertising campaign can turn scary, surprising our senses with a "floor-less" elevator, see below. Of course, it's only a trick painting on the elevator's floor...
Imagine trying to pass a truck like this on a highway... giving more space to that sticking out bottle, just in case:
It's easy to see why the paintings below are so unique. Guido Daniele paints on hands... other advertising also uses feet:
And finally, these are not illusions, but photo-manipulated and mind-bending "reality" nevertheless:
I would think that since we see & perceive A & B as differnt colors then logically they are different colors. If you open the picture in Photoshop and measure the color values the later may be true but i still think that certainly in this case seeing is believing. Thats just my personal opinion & observation.
Btw, Excellent Web-Site & Thank You for posting all this wonderful stuff...
The “Angy Face” really impressed me!!! How can faces switch when you move back? It’s something uncomprehensible and obscure for me. It will be very interesting to see some other illusions and gaze at them. I suppose, the author was inspired by real people.Unfortunately, people often reshape themself and not always from left to rifht.:)
Glass CDs have been around since the stone age! Duplication masters are often made of glass. Always have been! http://www.google.com/search?q=%22glass+master%22
And, the stream of bits that come off the CD is almost always bit-perfect! Readers are designed to compensate for read errors by retrying or reconstructing using parity bits.
I just wanted to clarify a bit: The sign you have named "stop" in fact is "no entry". In Russia and some other ex-USSR countries in slang its called "brick".
Some DIY geniuses made such signs nearby their country houses. You can see one more example here: http://www.traffic.lv/traffic/Info/Uzsmaidi/041-060/uzsmaidi052.jpg
Just showed my 6 year old son some fractal pictures this morning; we found dragons, skeletons, jellyfish, gazoomba birds, birds which look soft but have scary teeth up close, a 'feather wheel', stealth airplanes, overturned sailboats, all kinds of gems and of course the galaxy. He was quite impressed.
Incredibly stupid, maybe, but not as stupid as the teenager who tried to play Russian Roulette with an automatic pistol - he did get a Darwin award. I don't think anyone can top that.
Great Blog by the way. One of the best I've ever seen.
"Everyone knows that Japanese live on their own time. Their culture is alternatively more fast-paced and intense than the rest of the western world (like in urban areas), or more relaxed and introspective (like a Japanese garden)."
You have never lived in Japan have you? Take it from someone who has had a decade of living in-country and two decades of Japanese language and culture, you need to update your knowledge of the country beyond comics, anime and samurai movies. Try DOGS AND DEMONS.
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10 Comments:
A couple of years ago, my father bought me a puzzle of one of those cylindrical mirror pictures. I haven't had the guts to even try it yet!
Wow Avi, those are some really trippy artworks! Thanks for sharing, and providing the links.
thanks omninaif... there are more out there, will do as a series. Most amazing is how people MAKE that stuff.
Where did those last two pictures of the octopus and crab come from? I'd love a desktop-sized copy
Those trucks are of a photoshop contest, they're not real. You can also tell by the fact that it's the same picture for both trucks.
that picture of the octopus is just Grosssss !!! ewwwww !!! i would be getting out of that place PRetty darn fast !!!!
are you sure that A and B are the same colour I see they have different color!
I would think that since we see & perceive A & B as differnt colors then logically they are different colors. If you open the picture in Photoshop and measure the color values the later may be true but i still think that certainly in this case seeing is believing. Thats just my personal opinion & observation.
Btw, Excellent Web-Site & Thank You for posting all this wonderful stuff...
X
a and b are of same color....its just light on dark in a and dark on light in b....this perceives our eyes...else they are truly same color
The “Angy Face” really impressed me!!! How can faces switch when you move back? It’s something uncomprehensible and obscure for me. It will be very interesting to see some other illusions and gaze at them. I suppose, the author was inspired by real people.Unfortunately, people often reshape themself and not always from left to rifht.:)
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