Illusion Confusion: The Wonderful World of Optical Deception

... pictures that appear to move, change colour or fool us into seeing things that ‘aren’t really there’ ...

This comprehensive survey of optical illusions includes an astonishing range of images from ancient times to the present. Covering illusions of depth, inversions, vibration effects, ambiguous figures, camouflage, anamorphic art, tessellations and other visual brain-teasers, it presents examples from psychology, the popular press, the decorative arts, contemporary street art and the fine arts.

M. C. Escher, Picasso, Vasarely, Magritte, Liu Bolin, Jos de Mey and other artists are generously represented. Reflecting author Paul Baars’s deep engagement with the art and science of optical illusions, this book supersedes all others on the subject.

Includes:
• Perspective Illusions, Anamorphic Images, Murals, and Camouflage
• Impossible Illusions in Perspective
• Upside-Down Illusions
• Ambiguous Figures and Figure-Ground Illusions
• Neon- and After-Effects, Color Brightness, Static Movements, and Vibrations
• Estimated Sizes, Image Distortions, and Geometric Illusions
• Tessellations and Illusions of Depth and Distance

Paul M. Baars is a designer based in Amsterdam. His firm, Paul Baars Design, creates original identities and objects, and his works are sold in galleries and museums in the Netherlands and abroad.