The Unusual Graphic Art of M. C. Escher
Monday Talk: 24 March 2025
7 pm (Beirut Time GMT+2)
Speaker: Akram Najjar (English)
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The Talk
Escher was a Dutch graphic artist (1898-1972). His work was
on woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints (a monochrome printmaking process of
the intaglio family). Although he was very well known during his lifetime, he
became universally known during the Flower Era where everyone had an Escher
work in their room.
His diverse works include real life art but most
importantly, he concentrated on graphics of:
1) Impossible objects
2) Paradoxical works
3) Tessellations based on a variety of symmetries
4) Twisted perspectives
5) Infinite and Limits
6) Metamorphosis (Transformational Art)
7) Reflection and Distortion
Mathematicians knew that his work must have a mathematical
basis and did try to base his work on theory. Yet, Escher was not a
mathematician and only used his creative intuition to develop his art.
This talk will run through the different categories of his
art showing a large number of examples.
A graduate of AUB in Physics and Mathematics (1966). By 1969, he completed a degree in Electronic Engineering in University of Hertfordshire, UK. His professional life was spent in Information Technology and organizational management. He spent a lot of time on reengineering business and public sector processes.
When Akram was 11, he had a problem with his knee which necessitated his staying in bed for 6 months. To keep him busy, his mother moved their record player to his room and that is when he fell in love with classical music. Akram never studied music, academically. However, it interested him so much that he took an analytic view of classical music always insisting that works must be understood to be really appreciated.
Based on his love for science and mathematics, he got involved in puzzles, recreational mathematics and kept up to date with scientific findings.
