M.C. Escher The Eye 1945
This piece has always interested me, this is where my fascination with eyes began. But it's much more than that. I cant say for certain, no one can really, unless they knew the artist personally and his intentions when creating the piece. But to me, the eye represents life, more than that still. the eye is round, one could argue that it is the circle of life. All is one. One is all.
And what of the faintly outlined skull creeping in the pupil. Escher was considered an illusion artist, the skull sits comfortably behind the eyes, always out of view. The skull in Western society also repents death, mortality. Maybe Escher is teasing us with the one who watches over all of us, the fate of each of us, death. There is no great expanse of life for us all, just the small time we have, constantly being watched by death just drawing nearer to our destinies.
haha i was going to choose this M.C. Escher for my blog post but you beat me to it. This might be one of my favorites of his.
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ReplyDeleteVery nice representation of the human eye. Whats really fascinating about this piece from a composition point of view is the way M.c. Escher places his whites. The ones located left and bottom inside the iris, top and bottom eyelash, and most notably along the four corners gives the eye a realistic look. Symbolically, this eye could be staring at the face of death. Maybe this guy or gal was behind the wheel of a car that suddenly drifted off a cliff. This could be a way of interpreting that unfortunate situation.
ReplyDeleteTravis I can almost guarantee that this is a self-portrait of the eye of Escher. Personally I see it as death looking out to the world through the eyes of a host.
ReplyDeleteEscher was sick throughout his life, the idea of constant pain and/or death must have always been on his mind.