“If I am not mistaken, the word "art" and "artist" did not exist during the Renaissance and before: there were simply architects, sculptors, and painters, practicing a trade.” IfsArtArtistTradePainterArchitectMistakenRenaissanceSculptors Author:M. C. Escher
“At moments of great enthusiasm it seems to me that no one in the world has ever made something this beautiful and important.” WorldArtMadeImportantMomentsSeemsBeautifulPassionEnthusiasm Author:M. C. Escher
“For me it remains an open question whether [this work] pertains to the realm of mathematics or to that of art.” ArtTeachingMathematicsRemainsMathRealms Author:M. C. Escher
“To tell you the truth, I am rather perplexed by the concept of 'art'. What one person considers to be 'art' is often not 'art' to another. 'Beautiful' and 'ugly' are old-fashioned concepts that are seldom applied these days; perhaps justifiably, who knows? Something repulsive, which gives you a moral hangover, and hurts your ears or eyes, may well be art. Only 'kitsch' is not art - we're all agreed about that. Indeed, but what is 'kitsch'? If only I knew!” IfsKnowsGivingWellsMayPersonsArtEyeBeautifulHurtMoralArt IsConceptsEarsUglyThese DaysOld FashionedHangoverKitschPerplexed Author:M. C. Escher
“I am always wandering around in enigmas. There are young people who constantly come to tell me: you, too, are making Op Art. I haven't the slightest idea what that is, Op Art. I've been doing this work for thirty years now.” PeopleYearsArtIdeasYoungHavensWanderThirtyThirty YearsEnigmaWandering Around Author:M. C. Escher
“My work is a game, a very serious game.” ArtGamesWorkSeriousRecreationCraftsmanSerious Work Author:M. C. Escher
“Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it's in my basement... let me go upstairs and check.” ThinkingArtImpossibleAchieveLet MeChecksAbsurdBasementsUpstairsLet Me Go Author:M. C. Escher
“Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?” ArtRealityAwarenessCeilings Author:M. C. Escher
“Science and art sometimes can touch one another, like two pieces of the jigsaw puzzle which is our human life, and that contact may be made across the boderline between the two respective domains.” HumansMayArtMadeTwoSometimesEducationPiecesMathematicsContactHuman LifePuzzlesDomainArt And ScienceJigsawJigsaw Puzzles Author:M. C. Escher
“I never got a pass mark in math... Just imagine - mathematicians now use my prints to illustrate their books. Funny me consorting with all these learned folks, as though I were their long lost brother. I guess they are unaware of the fact that I am ignorant about the whole thing.” LongArtBookWholeFactsUseLostBeautyImagineBrotherMarkFolksMathIgnorantPrintAestheticMathematicianLost Brother Author:M. C. Escher
