FUN WITH TESSELLATION AND GRAPHIC ARTS

The game “What Historical Figure Do You Want to Meet” made me think of whom I’d like to talk to. One is M.C. Escher, and the second person is the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten.

If I could resuscitate the pharaoh, I’d ask where he conceived the idea of monotheism. Was Akhenaten truly the first person to consider only one God? ¹ Did he merely rebel against the pantheon of Egyptian deities and try to change Egyptian religion to be clever? Or to leave a legacy? Did he experience a mystical experience?

Interesting as Akhenaten sounds, I’ll leave him for a future blog.

Escher, who died in 1972, is a more recent figure to investigate. One of Escher’s main bodies of work includes his exercises in tessellation, geometric shapes repeated on a flat plane without leaving gaps, where shapes, like squares and triangles, interlock with each other in perfect harmony. (See figure below)

Tessellation, or periodic tiling, has roots in the ancient cultures of Sumer, Rome, Greece, and Egypt. Yes, even in Akhenaten’s Eighteenth Dynasty, tessellation adorned the floors and walls of homes and temples. It’s fascinating to see that the repetition of shapes from the ancient Egyptian civilization are precursors to Escher’s work. (Below – a pavement fragment from a palace floor in Amarna, Egypt – Eighteenth Dynasty)

Escher is famous for taking rigid geometric forms, such as triangles, and evolving them into fish or birds or butterflies. (See below)

All creative people, writers, visual artists, and musicians, have “defining moments” that impact their work. Escher was no different. He experienced his “defining moment” at the Alhambra. While there, he copied geometric designs including honeycombs in the Patio de los Leones (Above). The experience took him from simple observation of geometric forms to focusing on his own inventiveness and his art flourished into fantastic optical illusions. (See below)

The digital age influences every facet of life. Art is no exception. With computers, the repetition of patterns used in graphic art is totally fused with math and science. It also impacts architecture. (See below – Swiss Re Tower in London)

A computer calculates a complex tessellation in seconds.

Escher did his work the old-fashioned way—without computers. If he were alive today, would Escher create complex tessellations using computer technology? Or would he continue in the artisan tradition of pen to paper using his human imagination?

¹Moses presumably lived one hundred or more years after Akhenaten

***

I’d love to hear what you think of tessellation?

I love tessellation so much that I’ve described buildings, churches, or pathways containing tessellation in a couple of my novels. Readers would probably not remember the descriptions since they are merely part of a setting I’m describing.

About Kathryn

Kathryn Lane writes mystery and suspense novels set in foreign countries. In her award-winning Nikki Garcia Mystery Series, her protagonist is a private investigator based in Miami.

A bit of News: Fun in Galveston, TX

Three members of the Stiletto Gang, Saralyn Richard, Gay Yellen, and Kathryn Lane are among the eight authors represented at the Book Nook at the Galveston Chamber of Commerce’s 15^th annual Women’s Conference.