Anamorphic illusions of perception. Don't Believe Your Eyes: Stunning Anamorphic Illusions
Among the original types of creativity, anamorphic art occupies a place of honor, in which, seemingly out of nothing, or rather out of something incomprehensible and abstractly, under certain conditions, some absolutely clear three-dimensional image suddenly appears. There is something otherworldly and mystical about these optical illusions. There is something of magic tricks in these anamorphic pictures.
To perceive this effect important role the point of view, various displacements, reflections, lighting, etc. play a role. The very concept of Anamorphosis when translated from Greek language means "form or image". It is not easy to explain these optical anamorphic illusions in words - this is precisely the case when it is better to see everything with your own eyes. For this reason, anamorphic art installations and exhibitions around the world are always well attended.
Hungarian graphic artist István Orosz owns this ancient technology. He is known throughout the world for his work in optical and anamorphic art. At first glance, his paintings look like daubs that have no meaning. However, but if in the amorphous picture in Right place put a special conical or cylindrical mirror and look from the desired point, then all this abstraction will instantly turn into very clear three-dimensional images.
London-based sculptor Jonty Hurwitz creates anamorphic sculptures of incredibly complex architecture. To achieve normal reflection from the usual "abstraction", Jonty Hurwitz has to use special computer software for 3D graphics. For the most part This work involves computer modeling and mathematical calculations. The result is some kind of deformed and curved objects that look quite realistic when reflected on the mirror cylinder. Creativity always coexists with the development of science and progress. And anamorphic art is another confirmation of this.
These are spatial optical illusions, and it’s even clear how they were made, but no less impressive for that. Hey, masters, hey, musin's children!
The inspiring fathers of the genre of artistic optical illusions in the history of art modern masters they consider Leonardo do Vinci (15th-16th centuries) and Hans Holbein the Younger (16th century) with their creative experiments, Andrea Pozzo (17th century) with large-scale architectural trompe l’oeil; Both Escher and Salvador Dali used this effect.
Skull visible from a certain viewer position
Paintings by Andrea Pozzo on a flat ceiling
And these are modern visionary illusionists:
Istvan Orosz
These visual traps are anamorphic illusions. And for physicists there is no miracle in them. Anamorphosis is an image in a distorted projection or perspective that forces the viewer to use special devices or take a certain point of view in order to restore the original image (the word "anamorphosis" - return of form - comes from the Greek prefix -ana-, meaning "back" or " back”, and the words Morphe – form).
During the Renaissance, anamorphic illusions were widely used to hide images from unwanted eyes - this was how they disguised political caricatures, obscene pictures, magical images, important portraits.
Erhard Schön was one of the first to widely use the technique. In one of his 1538 engravings, at first you see only the biblical Jonah, a whale and elements of the landscape, but if you look at a low angle from the bottom left, the composition changes and reveals a squatting peasant and a pile of excrement. And the phrase “WAS. SICHST. DV” is better read - “What do you see?”
To be fair, it’s worth noting that there are 4 types of anamorphosis:
Optical (perspective, not requiring special devices for viewing), which uses perspective distortions of the image viewed under certain angle or from a certain point;
- catoptric (mirror) - to create and restore an image, anamorphoscope mirrors are needed - flat, conical, cylindrical and pyramidal, with a different number of edges;
- diopter, which requires special glasses to view;
- anorphoscopic – rotation is required to view such images. This type of anamorphosis became one of the progenitors of cinema.
For example, optical anamorphosis - the skull in Holbein’s painting must be viewed from a very small angle from the lower left side, and Pozzo’s illusory architectural volumes in all their unreal beauty are revealed from one specially designated point on the floor of the hall.
Inexperienced and spoiled school teaching physics, the modern viewer is haunted by the question - how was this created in the pre-computer, pre-scientific era? To create mirror anamorphoses, they just used calculation, skill and various shapes anamorphoscopes.
Does this one work? visual effect like this:
Cylindrical anamorphoscopes used to be copper, brass or bronze cylinders polished to a mirror finish, but now this is easier. And magical stretched images - cylindrical anamorphoses that appear undistorted only in cylindrical mirror, contemporary artists easier to do on a computer. Especially if this effect is used in three-dimensional objects.
Nabokov in “Invitation to an Execution” described anamorphic toys that were in use 300-400 years ago: “...I remember: when I was a child, such things were in fashion - ah, not only among children, but also among adults. , were called “netki” - and they were supposed, therefore, to have a special mirror, little that was crooked - absolutely distorted, nothing could be understood, gaps, confusion, everything slides before the eyes, but its curvature was not without reason, but just so fitted .. Or, rather, they were matched to its curvature in such a way... No, wait, I’m not explaining it well. In a word, you had such a wild mirror and a whole collection of different nonsense, that is, absolutely ridiculous objects: all sorts of shapeless, motley, holes, spots, pockmarked, knobby things, like some kind of fossils - but a mirror that it completely distorted ordinary objects, which now means it received real food, that is, when you placed such an incomprehensible and ugly object so that it was reflected in an incomprehensible and ugly mirror, it turned out wonderful; no to no gave yes, everything was restored, everything was fine - and from the shapeless motley a wonderful harmonious image emerged in the mirror: flowers, a ship, a figure, some kind of landscape. It was possible - to order - even own portrait, that is, they gave you some kind of terrible porridge, and it was you, but the key to you was in the mirror. Ah, I remember how fun it was and a little scary - what if nothing happens! - to take such a new, incomprehensible net in your hand and bring it closer to the mirror, and see in it how your hand is completely decomposing, but how the meaningless net is folded into a lovely picture, clear, clear...”
19th century toy with cone anamorphoscope
This man-made miracle did not leave modern lovers of optical puzzles indifferent. It’s a pity that it’s impossible to define the activities of such artists for the convenience of the narrative - anamorphos, anamorphs, anamorphists? The words come out kind of inartistic, clinical. But the work of these illusionists is amazing. And the people are all intelligent, hardworking, ambitious, persistently developing the direction.
The optical anamorphic effect is also used in road markings.
Hungarian artist, designer and animator Istvan Orosz (born 1951) is a recognized enthusiast of artistic encryption. Istvan worked through all the possibilities of anamorphoscopes of different configurations.
Felice Varini (b. 1952) has been involved in anamorphosis since 1979.
Bernard Pras became famous for his series of portraits famous people and copies famous paintings, created from cleverly arranged household items and all sorts of improvised materials in space.
Fanette Guilloud
The artist Edgar Degas said: “Art is not what you see, but what others will see.” Anamorphosis is one of the few directions contemporary art, which attracts attention because it invariably intrigues. And even revealing the “secrets” of optical tricks does not interfere with magic and admiration - such is our primitive nature. We are happy to be deceived.
Anamorphic illusions- These are special images or objects that must be viewed from a certain point of view or using certain optical devices in order to see their content and obtain an illusory effect.
There are two types of anamorphic illusions: the first, called mirrored , will require the use of a special mirror for viewing. Most often this mirror is conical or cylindrical in shape. Anamorphoses designed for cylindrical spherical mirrors are called catoptric. Anamorphoses that give the correct image of a design when observed using a glass polyhedron are called dioptric. To see the depicted object, a mirror cylinder or cone must be placed in specific place in the drawing, usually in its center, and on the surface of the mirror an image with the correct proportions will be formed. Mirror anamorphs first appeared in the Late Renaissance (16th century). They were also used for encryption and transmission of secret information that cannot be recognized without an appropriate mirror.
The second type of anamorphic illusions is promising . If you look at them from any other angles, you cannot see anything other than a collection of spots or a jumble of structures. These illusions work on the principle of a highly distorted projection of an image onto a flat or three-dimensional surface. The first known anamorphic illusion is the so-called "Leonardo's Eye" - a drawing dated 1485 and depicting a human eye, the correct proportions of which are perceived only when observed from a very acute angle.
In the XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries anamorphic illusions have become extremely popular, they are large quantities were printed in the form of engravings and book illustrations, and in addition, this technique was widely used for painting walls in monasteries, temples, as well as palaces and villas belonging to the aristocracy. Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543) is perhaps the most famous artist classical period who used this technique. His painting "Ambassadors" includes a hidden image... Try to understand for yourself what the artist placed on foreground of your painting. In the 19th century, with the invention of inexpensive color printing technology, anamorphic images experienced a resurgence and often appeared on the pages of magazines.
Today, in the 21st century, anamorphic drawings have come out of art galleries and from the pages of magazines onto the streets of the city. A popular trend today is to draw such anamorphs on the asphalt, as a result of which all passers-by can become participants in the performance and join in the intention of the author of the work. Artist Julian Beaver's unique sidewalk works are known throughout the world. On June 14, 2009, Julian presented his anamorphic painting "Construction Accident" in the Austrian capital of Vienna. The entire process of its creation is reflected in the video.
