Brad Honeycutt is a web developer and optical illusion enthusiast. For over a decade, he has operated a popular optical illusion website, allowing him the opportunity to get to know many wonderful artists. He works with two of the world's leading stereogram creators to help publish several books containing their 3-D creations. Brad is also the author of EXCEPTIONAL EYE TRICKS and the co-author of THE ART OF THE ILLUSION with Terry Stickels.
Seeing is believing, so they say. But I'm betting "they" never saw
The Art of Deception: Illusions to Challenge the Eye and the Mind.
More than a collection of optical illusions (though it surely is
that), The Art of Deception features painting, photography and
graphic design that's made to make you look twice. Or three times.
These are works that scream out to you: "Hold on a sec, all is not
what it seems." Take Liu Bolin's photograph of a small wooded area
near Beijing. Looks innocent enough, until you notice the sly
presence of a man standing right in front of you. Is he painted to
blend in? Is he transparent? Or Ben Heine's photograph of a drawing
that offers a bird's eye perspective of a nest of what could be
skyscrapers. A young man is holding the drawing in such a way that
he seems to be floating above them, looking down into them. Or how
about Nikita Prokhorov's tessellation art, in which figures are
intertwined in what could be endless patterns? Or Oscar
Reutersvard's impossible figure designs? There's really almost too
much here to marvel at, and your eyes will widen to amazed orbs as
you take it all in. From Punya Mishra's ambigram of the word "good"
with the word "evil" embedded inside it, to Guido Daniele's
paintings of animals on hands, The Art of Deception is a brilliant
study of how artists from across the globe see and bend the world
around them. It's not so much a game, though it can be, as it is an
interpretation of the world as they see it. Their juxtapositions
surprise, then illuminate, and finally provide "a-ha!" moments that
leave you smiling. This wonderful book features a foreword by John
Langdon, king of the ambigram, and bite-sized essays about each
work of art. They don't give the secret of the work away, but each
one offers a glimpse into the mind of the artist and a peek at what
he or she is trying to accomplish within each piece.
--January Magazine
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