Optical Illusions

People are fascinated by optical illusions. There is something intrinsically satisfying about static pictures that appear to move, change color, or fool us into seeing things that ?aren’t really there.” This comprehensive survey of optical illusions includes an astonishing range of images from ancient times to the present. Covering illusions of depth, inversions, vibration effects, ambiguous figures, camouflage, anamorphic art, tessellations, and other visual brain teasers, it presents examples from psychology, the popular press, the decorative arts, contemporary street art, and the fine arts. M. C. Escher, Pablo Picasso, Rene Magritte, Liu Bolin, and other artists are generously represented. Thanks to author Paul Baars’s deep engagement with the art and science of optical illusions, this book supersedes all others on the subject.

Paul M. Baars is a designer based in Amsterdam. His firm, Paul Baars Design, creates original identities and objects, and his works are sold in galleries and museums in the Netherlands and abroad. His lifelong fascination has been optical illusions.