“A woman once rang me up and said, 'Mr. Escher, I am absolutely crazy about your work. In your print -Reptiles- you have given such a striking illustration of reincarnation.' I replied, 'Madam, if that's the way you see it, so be it.'” IfsWaySaidGivenCrazyPrintReincarnationIllustrationReptilesEscher Author:M. C. Escher
“I try in my prints to testify that we live in a beautiful and orderly world, not in a chaos without norms, even though that is how it sometimes appears. My subjects are also often playful: I cannot refrain from demonstrating the nonsensicalness of some of what we take to be irrefutable certainties. It is, for example, a pleasure to deliberately mix together objects of two and three dimensions, surface and spatial relationships, and to make fun of gravity.” WorldTryingTwoSometimesTogetherBeautifulThreeFunPleasureSubjectsExampleObjectsChaosSurfaceCertaintyDimensionsPrintGravityNormRefrainOrderlyDemonstratingSpatialThree Dimensions Author:M. C. Escher
“I think I have never yet done any work with the aim of symbolizing a particular idea, but the fact that a symbol is sometimes discovered or remarked upon is valuable for me because it makes it easier to accept the inexplicable nature of my hobbies, which constantly preoccupy me.” ThinkingIdeasSometimesDoneFactsAcceptingParticularEasierAimValuableSymbolsHobbiesInexplicable 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 don't grow up. In me is the small child of my early days.” ChildrenGrowsGrowing UpSmall Child Author:M. C. Escher
“In mathematical quarters, the regular division of the plane has been considered theoretically. ... [Mathematicians] have opened the gate leading to an extensive domain, but they have not entered this domain themselves. By their very nature they are more interested in the way in which the gate is opened than in the garden lying behind it.” WayHas BeensLyingBehindsGardenMathematicalPlanesGatesDivisionQuartersMathematicianDomain Author:M. C. Escher
“Although I am even now still a layman in the area of mathematics, and although I lack theoretical knowledge, the mathematicians, and in particular the crystallographers, have had considerable influence on my work of the last twenty years. The laws of the phenomena around us--order, regularity, cyclical repetition, and renewals--have assumed greater and greater importance for me. The awareness of their presence gives me peace and provides me with support. I try in my prints to testify that we live in a beautiful and orderly world, and not in a formless chaos, as it sometimes seems.” WorldGivingTryingYearsStillsSometimesSeemsLastsBeautifulLawOrderSupportGreaterInfluenceAwarenessParticularAreasImportanceGive MeTwentiesMathematicsChaosPrintMathematicianRepetitionRenewalTheoreticalOrderlyRegularityLayman Author:M. C. Escher
“The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these hobbies or problems...I have embarked on this geometric problem again and again over the years, trying to throw light on different aspects each time. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if this problem had never occurred to me; one might say that I am head over heels in love with it, and I still don't know why.” IfsKnowsTryingYearsStillsDifferentProblemLightMightWould BeNaturalImagineFiguresObjectsAspectFamiliarPlanesDivisionAssociationHeelsAgain And AgainHobbiesObserversGeometricHead Over Heels Author:M. C. Escher
“I don't think anyone really is interested in reading about my emotional state. It's not even interesting to me.” ThinkingStatesReadingInterestingEmotional Author:Larry David
“Order is repetition of units. Chaos is multiplicity without rhythm.” OrderChaosRhythmUnitsRepetitionMultiplicity Author:M. C. Escher