Paradox

“Enigma”, Paradoxical Volumes

Gianni Sarcone

In these minimalist op art works, I explore geometry as metaphor, using the hexagon as a building block for cubes and other regular solids. The forms appear stable and believable, yet they are impossible. Their contradiction isn’t obvious at first; it reveals itself only when the eye slows down and follows the structure closely. By merging incompatible viewpoints and softening the boundary between inside and outside, the drawings turn logic against itself. The more ordinary the form looks, the stronger the effect—these objects are meant less to trick the eye than to unsettle the mind and challenge our sense of space.

Enigma 1: Available as fine prints and t-shirts.

The two drawings displayed above and below combine paired tribars to form an impossible isometric cube, where form and illusion lock into a single structure.

Enigma 3: Available as fine prints and t-shirts.

Here, the “volume” turns itself inside out, quietly echoing the logic of a Klein bottle and unsettling the usual distinction between interior and exterior.

Enigma 2: Available as fine prints and t-shirts.

I am currently in the process of writing an informative book titled “Mastering Optical & Geometric Art: A Journey to Captivating Creations.” With a length of 136 pages, this book serves as an engaging guide to creating visually striking optical art and intricate 2D and 3D patterns. If you are interested in exploring further, I invite you to connect with me on Amazon.

Math-Magic Vanishing Space

Gianni Sarcone
Qaudrix puzzle 1

Inspired from the astrological tables, here is a new puzzle of my creation designed according to the ‘Golden Number Rules’, which is reflected in the proportion of each single piece of the game. Thanks to the balanced dimensions of its pieces, this puzzle acquires some intriguing magical properties!

This “math-magical” puzzle is composed of a tray in which the pieces are assembled.

Quadrix puzzle 2

Puzzle Quadrix (aka Quirinus), © 1992, G. Sarcone.

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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.

Ghost Colors

Gianni Sarcone

This is one of my earliest color optical illusions. There is no yellow or green in the diamond shapes, just vertical black lines! (If you don’t believe it, use a eyedropper tool to check it.) This intriguing visual effect is mainly due to “simultaneous color contrast induction“.

Illusive colors
Ghost Squares / Black Diamonds (2002 – 2007)
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Magic Tic-Tac-Toe

Gianni Sarcone

Our visual system can interpret colors and shades in surprising ways. This 3×3 Tic-Tac-Toe grid, for example, showcases how easily our perception of brightness can be fooled.
Do you notice anything unusual in the grid below?

Show / Hide the Trick

The looping animation below brings the illusion to life, revealing the trick in action. That large green square behind the grid isn’t actually uniform—it’s made up of alternating dark and light green squares.

Our visual system works like a “comparative computer”. In fact, we never see colors in isolation, as the appearance of any color is affected by the colors surrounding it. So, under certain conditions, colors that are identical may appear different, while colors that are different may look the same. In our visual system there is a mechanism that enhances the contrast of the outline of an object relative to its background: it is called “lateral inhibition”.
Thus, even small differences in brightness between adjacent zones, or objects, are deliberately increased by our visual system and the brain to better distinguish them. But something strange happens when the brightness boundaries of the color zones are concealed: the cues the brain needs to trigger the lateral inhibition no longer exist and consequently we become blind to variations in color brightness, as shown in the animated gif.

Recognitions
My optical illusion “Magic Tic-Tac-Toe” has been chosen to be among the top 10 finalists for the “2019 Best Illusion of the Year Contest”

PERCEPTION OF BRIGHTNESS

Gianni Sarcone

In the example below, in the left column, you can see two apples—one green, one red—appearing as a single solid color with a black cross over them. Now, if we remove the thick black lines, each apple clearly appears divided into four quarters of different shades—even though they are exactly the same in both columns, with and without the black cross.

Here’s a trickier version: with the black grid in place, the large green square appears uniform. Take the grid away, and it turns into a full-on checkerboard…

shade contrast 2

This occurs because in our visual system there is a mechanism that enhances the contrast of the outline of an object relative to its background: it is called ‘lateral inhibition’. Thus, even small differences in brightness between adjacent zones or objects are deliberately increased by the brain to better distinguish them. So, when the brightness boundaries of the color zones are concealed, the cues the brain needs to trigger the lateral inhibition mechanism no longer exist and consequently we become “blind” to variations in color brightness. The illustrations above have been taken from my book “Drawing Optical Illusions” who was translated in many languages. The book is still available from Amazon.

Drawing optical illusions

This eye-catching, colorful book is designed to inspire those artists interested in optical illusions and as an invaluable reference tool for people who to wish to create them. In clear, easy steps, this book shows people how to design a range of original and classic optical illusions and even how to create their own personalized illusions.

Optical Illusions, An Eye-Popping Extravaganza of Visual Tricks

Gianni Sarcone

“Reality is merely an illusion,
albeit a very persistent one.”
— Albert Einstein

Everything you “see” depends strongly on the context and attention you give to it. The mind and the world you experience are inseparable, as it is your 3-pound brain that make the world meaningful. Seeing isn’t some kind of direct perception of reality. Actually, our bairns are cnostanlty itnerperting, correcting, and giving srtuctrue to the viusal ipnut form our eeys. If this were not the case, you would not see any colors (consider that all the beautiful colors you see don’t really exist), and you would probably see the world upside-down! Moreover, you would notice in your visual field a very large dot, called the “blind spot,” where the optical nerve enters the eye.

A Zen master said once: “If you pour water into a cup, water becomes the cup; if you fill a bottle with water, it becomes the bottle!” Likewise, the context shapes the appearance of the world surrounding you. Your brains work by comparing information and stimuli: contrasting colors, shapes, depth in a dynamic changing environment … that’s why perception is relative and not absolute. Continue Reading →