Author: Gianni Sarcone

Op Art On Metal

Gianni Sarcone

Below are two neat optical illusion projects for which I was commissioned by “Art of Play”. From one perspective, the grooves in the metal die-cut bookmarks seem to be an abstract design but place the pattern against a solid clear or dark background and a familiar figure pops into view! These bookmarks are a sliver of wonder that hides between the pages to guard your place in any story.

Everything is relative with this magical bookmark of my creation depicting the famous theoretical physicist. Engraved with one of Einstein’s most famous quotations: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”

Einstein bookmark – 1
Available from Art of Play: https://www.artofplay.com/products/einstein-bookmark
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Apparitions

Gianni Sarcone

This ghostly face appears to mysteriously change its features when you look at it for a while (Some viewers have even reported experiencing traumatic visions!). But that’s not all – if you unfocus your eyes and look steadily through the image, you’ll notice that after about 10-15 seconds, the face gradually disappears…

Ghost Faces / Apparition – Mixed media (2011)

This spooky portrait is created by merging together 50 common human faces. The process of averaging multiple exposures of human faces isn’t really new. In fact, as early as 1879, Sir Frances Galton experimented with this photographic technique, and others have since followed suit, using it for artistic or social purposes. Artists like Ken Kitano, Jason Salavon, Donald Scott Bray have all borrowed this technique for their own work.

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Amazing Brightness Constancy Effect

Gianni Sarcone

Look carefully at the saw-tooth wave patterns on this picture. Is the background of the picture uniformly gray or are there different shades of gray?

Kolozanges (2013-2021), © Gianni A. Sarcone

Brightness constancy makes some vertical strips look darker, when in fact the gray background is all the same shade of gray.

This op art work is available as prints and canvases from my official online Gallery.

Turning Gray Shades Into Colors With A Tinted Geometric Grid

Gianni Sarcone
explanation

This is an old technique that uses the “color assimilation” effect to colorize pictures. This perceptual effect, also known by scientists as the Von Bezold spreading effect, occurs when our visual system transfers perceived colors to their adjacent areas.

Is the first photo of a variety of pumpkins in color?

colorized black and white pumpkins
Black and white photo overlaid with a geometrical tinted grid
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Paradoxical Elastic Squares

Gianni Sarcone

A math-magic article I wrote for the German magazine Zeit Wissen: with the 13 triangular and square pieces (fig. 1) it is possible to form two large squares shown in fig. 2. Though the second large square has an extra piece the dimensions of the squares seem to be the same! Can you explain why this is possible?

This puzzle is available as greeting cards from my online store.