2/2 The Art of the Impossible: MC Escher and Me - Secret Knowledge

First broadcast: Sep 2015.
Episode 18/18 World-leading cosmologist Professor Sir Roger Penrose is more than just a fan of MC Escher's mind-bending art. During the course of a long creative collaboration, the British mathematician and the Dutch artist exchanged ideas and inspirations. Some of Escher's most iconic images have their origin in Penrose's mathematical sketches - while the artist's work has served as a starting point for the professor's own explorations of new scientific ideas. To coincide with the first ever Escher retrospective in the UK, Penrose takes us on a personal journey through Escher's greatest masterpieces - marvelling at his intuitive brilliance and the penetrating light it still sheds on complex mathematical concepts.

[@MossyMozart]

So many people rightly talk about Escher's design and intuitive math skills, but I love that this documentary also mentions his skill at engraving and woodcutting. A great image in your head means nothing if you don't also have the skill to create the image beautifully so that others can also see your vision. Inspired technical achievements!

[@TheHippie27]

I started doing linocuts this year, mainly inspired by Escher's work. It really is wild how much it adds a level of complexity and difficulty to what you're doing. I've been trying to simplify my drawings to compensate, but to see somebody who's blockprints look better than my drawings is awe-inspiring.

[@Rafaga777]

In terms of mathematics I'm truly a simpleton but I love the mind boggling art of Escher and the clear way professor Penrose explains the hidden mathematics of his works.

[@janinegaylard9233]

This combination of art and math is the reason I became a textile designer!

[@mariadam9157]

- nice - and congratz - If I could - I would make these patterns on ceramics - yeah? :D - one would need a lot of patience and disciplined in the making though... but one can dream about it

[@alexanderdaniel5005]

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[@cashwill7119]

@Alexander Daniel instablaster ;)

[@alexanderdaniel5005]

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[@alexanderdaniel5005]

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[@shaunmostert1585]

M.C. Escher, A pitty we didnt learn more about him in Art as we did about all the other "well known" artists, Escher stood out to me and I think he was one of the best... His reflecting sphere is the best for me

[@anttam117]

What a beautiful meeting of two brilliant minds. I don’t understand why the Art establishment hasn’t paid attention to Escher’s work, but in the end, I think it has been for the best. Escher was in far better, and more interesting, company surrounded by Mathematicians.

[@davidmendelsohn1856]

Great explanation of Escher`s work

[@TrippyKitty08]

My grandfather and father (both geniuses themselves) loved Escher! I grew up surrounded by wonderful prints. My favorite is the slightly lesser known "Puddle" I don't find it surprising that Escher found understanding of complex mathematics through art. As an artist myself sometimes drawing something out is the easiest way to understand it...and to show people what you're talking about!

[@AnyoneCanSee]

I clicked on your channel after reading this to check out your artwork and it was a really fun insight into making comic book art. Graphic novel artwork? I don't know much about the genre but I still enjoyed your videos. I hope you have continuing success in the chosen field.

[@nickzabol]

A beautiful insight into M.C. Escher's life. During my high school art class I was introduced to his work, and became inspired to draw bank notes and birds together for an art assignment.

[@srcarranza]

Best content I’ve seen in years!

[@JFK1180]

Simply wonderful, the great masters of our time, Escher, Professor Sir Roger Penrose and his friend Professor Stephen Hawking.

[@hugosadyayalaayala3470]

Roger Penrose cómo admiro a este señor!

[@monicacall7532]

If more advanced math had been presented using Escher’s art work to explain various principles I might’ve actually understood and enjoyed it more than I did.

[@levelrod]

Two geniuses that have bewildered my imagination since childhood. Surface scratchers who’s brilliance will inspire generations yet to come until those descendants of us make a more practical sense of what their work can wield. I can’t help but think that the Tokamak designers are the first to begin understanding the significance of the peek inside the veil that Penrose and Escher were being given.

[@bevsartsandcrafts715]

A fascinating two part documentary :)

[@sloaiza81]

Escher played down his understanding like all true masters. He has never fully been accepted by the Arts community because he is levels above it. The Escher-Penrose relationship is a classic example of ´real recognize real´.

[@tracytaylor7135]

Great homage from one master to another.

[@sloaiza81]

exactly

[@josephlloyd9636]

Wonderful, so great iv viewed it twice & likely to again.. thank you.🏆💕🌼🍃

[@allonifrah3465]

I grew up being introduced to my late grandfather, bless his memory. M.C. Escher is a national hero here. I've visited the Escher Museum in the Hague too. M.C. Escher's art has hugely inspired my own art style, helping me develop a love for geometry, polyhedra, intricate repeating patterns that are symmetrical over several axes at once, living things coming out of inanimate objects...etc. I think if M.C. Escher ever tried LSD or DMT he would've come out of those experiences in agreement that his mathmatical pattern art closely resembles the visions seen after ingesting these psychedelics, but he most likely wanted to distance himsel from the rather superficial "Woahh man. Far out, man. Super trippy, maaan' hippie culture of the time that was far below the level of consciousness from which he produced his artworks.

[@judithwalker3600]

Absolutely Astounding!

[@elmedia8692]

Quality program making. I thought it was a lost art. Super entertainment, education.

[@veronicaclarke7499]

Such a brilliant artist, great doco.

[@spm2200]

I m so intrigued by the works of m c escher.

[@Meine.Postma]

I love the mind of Roger Penrose, it never stops

[@studiolezard]

Brilliant documentary. Many thanks.

[@funkykoval2099]

Great doc! Thanks for sharing. It's super nice to see the originals as albums I saw were badly printed with only small selection of works.

[@ashishlahiri9283]

Simply brilliant and unthinkable

[@ryos81]

Amazing. I love your work. And this MCE documentary is the best. MCE work is amazing.

[@noelwilson5960]

fantastic programme, well done BBC Scotland and Clem Hitchcock

[@azariahbenisrael3396]

He was such a talented artist, I really enjoy all his artwork when I was in Middle School I did a drawing of a hand drawing another hand and this was way before I heard of MC Escher. My art teacher really liked my drawing so much that she asked me if I can keep that drawing. I was so happy and I said yes and I handed it to her. And I did another drawing using colored markers I did a drawing completely using lines and again my teacher was impressed to the point it was out in display in a glass case on a wall in the middle of the school. I didn't know about MC Escher until years later and that's when I came across a drawing of his of a hand drawing another hand and I was like what? The drawing was a bit different but I was like I did a drawing similar like that in Middle School it blew my mind.

[@santoshr2984]

Absolutely wonderful

[@HectorRodriguez-mp6ee]

Mathematics, Religion, Art, Music is all connected.

[@ministrysalm79]

Simplemente genial

[@flyinghorseknuckles]

I had no idea that Escher had been inspired by Penrose's works! That is apparent from my very naïve attempt at a documentary on Escher that I had made in college ages ago when I was 25. If you are curious, you can view it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmrSh2akeduin9E

[@alma1820]

It's just so perfect that it actually gives me satisfaction :)

[@LaTigerGenesis]

Nice, Peaches in Regalia!

[@kathygraham6251]

love his work, and impressed by the comments here. thanks so much

[@davepowell7168]

Insightful observations perhaps. Escher was a draughtsman,artist and printer of the highest order..🎉

[@AntonioPerez-pf3xn]

La magia de Escher explicada por Penrose hijo. Genial

[@jennief2108]

Again,many thanks )

[@KamauKoigi]

astounding!

[@anamariadiasabdalah7239]

A humanidade fica enriquecida com o acontecimento desses seres vivos aqui na Terra 🌎 💫

[@choujoel8537]

Remarkable !

[@PaulCarterArt]

Great insight to an amazing artist and the people he inspired. Thank you for sharing the time capsule for all generations

[@henrikrolfsen584]

It is my firm belief, that time is curved, just as Einstein stated, and is an eternal circle . If such a great man, with such incredible perception, creative energy, can die and perish. Why should I give one second thought to my own demise?

[@pearlhartney9]

How amazing and poignant that the last water colour was the re-imagined puzzle he sent and that it's name was ghost!

[@alienalajna]

Keeping in the theme of the title of this marvelous documentary - the art of the impossible - I would like to suggest to all viewers the short stories of Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, in particular "The Unbitten Elbow", about a man obsessed with biting his elbow, an anatomically impossible goal. (The Russians have an expression, "your elbow is near, but you can't bite it".). When challenged about this impossibility by a reporter, he answers in Spanish (in the Russian original as well as in the English translation), "Lo posible es para los tontos". That is, "the possible is for fools". (I have the story in the volume, "Autobiography of a Corpse", New York Review Books, translated brilliantly by Joanne Turnbull and Nikolai Formozov. Adam Thirlwell's introduction states that "language makes things possible that are not possible in reality" - which is obviously analogous to Escher's approach to visual art. Krzhizhanovsky was a very metaphysical writer, rarely published and never acclaimed in his time due to his indifference to the demands of "socialist realism" in the USSR. Instead, he did the impossible, and so was a genuine artist.

[@brianmcmanus4286]

Genius.

[@Rockulaproductions]

8:00 Frank Zappa "Peaches En Regalia"

[@stevelindstedt8858]

not the original.....(sounds like somebody else covering 'Peaches')

[@cfibb]

@@stevelindstedt8858It is FZ, just Shazam’d yet there was no particular album listed. Probably it is “Peaches III” from Tinsel Town Rebellion or Another recording from that era as you can hear the choir vocals played by Tommy Mars (on the vocoder).

[@richardlynch5632]

BRAVO 😎👍❤🖖

[@eugenio1542]

Best drugs ! My mind is thoroughly blown and heart opened. Peace and Love ☝️❤️🌍

[@mariadam9157]

... If I could - I would make these patterns on ceramics - yeah? :D - like a tribute serie thing... BUT one would need a lot of patience and disciplined in the making though...ehhh... hehe... but I can dream about it

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

I'm curious to know more about how he (and his family) fared under the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

[@paulmitchell1099]

I wonder if any of Escher's woodcuts or lino cuts still exist and make it possible to print a new copy of his work.

[@MossyMozart]

@paul Mitchell - If they exist, they may be too valuable or fragile to endure the wear and tear. Look for his estate curator and inquire there.

[@kennethbaird968]

What a grate story

[@stndsure7275]

If mind plays a central role in reality formation (as the provider of identity within a materially random reality) then it is not so surprising that Escher had a direct grasp of this. In a reality absent of internal identity, theoretically, we all do - consciousness provides identity, boundary conditions, relationship pattern, to a reality that is fundamentally absent of these conditions from the material side.

[@Ultra-Luminary]

When One discovers Fractals before anyone else!

[@tykjenffs]

Math is everywhere ^

[@justaguy-69]

i love escher , have many (most) of his prints in reproductions and i'm 80% done building my retirement home in the philippines inspired by him and frank lloyd wright out of concrete. i've never built a house before but spent years doing it in my imagination while driving my 18 wheeler over the road as a truck driver. i kind of overdid it strength wise as far as rebar and concrete composition , but not being a structural engineer i wanted to 'cover my butt' in this regard 😃🤣i plan to laminate and frame all my escher works and hang them throughout my home to enjoy as i grow older.

[@moonoovie]

Why does the piano music have to be such a mystery?? Whose compositions are these?

[@finddeniro]

He had it tough during WW2..However .Stay out of the Camps..His Teacher died in a Camp... Humbled Man..

[@lawrencefoster5569]

After listening to mic I'm convinced he was called by the Lord , for this.

[@kareno8634]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! MC Escher ~ I have passed on word of him Most of my life * peace

[@Aliwoof23]

man mc escher was dope

[@fredricclack7137]

Escher & Dali 4 me!

[@worstxb1playertylerteehc635]

Peaches en Regalia Frank Zappa 9:38 another genius

[@JeighNeither]

I wonder what Penrose thinks of Alex Grey's work?

[@sastenashe_yt8802]

Yo the drawings are cool

[@ronm3245]

I like how Escher basically told Mick Jagger to fuck off.

[@not2tees]

There's an esc key on the computer keyboard but it only leads to the ape not her.

[@pchabanowich]

💐

[@tchilds1521]

In the m c Escher holding the shiny sphere - Escher looks very like another of my favourite artists - John Byrne - does anyone else agree - or is it just me ?

[@shadowjack8]

It appears that he may have been using fractals before they were a thing.

[@seriousbismuth2173]

Really... Zappa?...Fuck I love mathematics and art history. Great tastes all around!

[@268gam]

Anyone know the song at the end?

[@MichaelOdomwest16thAve]

Seems many advanced mathematicians think in art or reference it often.

[@D0S81]

2:17 i always knew that MC Escher was really just a time traveling Jordan Peterson

[@napoleoneinstein2487]

WARNING! Do not look at any of Escher's work when tripping..you may never come back..

[@christophec6992]

Napoleon Einstein sometimes you need to loose yourself to find yourself.Reality is what you make of it.Defy logic, the predominant paradigm but accept it for what "it" is.Relative to personal perception perspective .In the final years of life; if were so lucky ; everything we've amassed will slowly and surely fade to become a distant memory vaguely remembered.We return to our childhood in a sense without youth , but wisdom from experience and experience from bad judgement and the occasional brief moment of clarity .Enjoy the ride .Dont cling to who you think you are.Enjoy the moment but dont dwell or ruminate there and let life pass you by ;be cautious ,develop forsight long term planning but dont expect it only the worst, enjoy the disapointnent and the guaranty life will bring hardship and it will take it away like everything that will be ,would be ,could be, should've,was is and has been.We amass -a mess- of pretty things, a burden of possesion ,obsession, of things- that bring -a moment to pass a bond we all share together ........maybe

[@deedubs602]

Napoleon Einstein that’s exactly how I found Escher who is now my favorite artist of all time. My walls are covered with his prints.

[@jdnelson9114]

I just appreciate his creative genius ... have long appreciated the beauty of fractals ... An appreciation of the creative mind brings me to appreciate the creation, itself ... and the Infinite mind of the Almighty God whose personal name is Jehovah. Romans 1:20 encapsulates the power witness that is being made all around us as we understand the complexity of the micro and macro of existence ... which is our finite understanding of an Infinite Mind that has none of the limitations we struggle with. jw.org

[@thatsmadness1865]

hmm hmm yes *sips wine* hmm yes

[@naedolor]

All I could say for half an hour after watching these patterns is What The Actual Fuck? This is not possible. What the fuck?

[@beachcomber2008]

M. C. Esher and Frank Zappa had a lot in common.

[@MossyMozart]

@beachcomber2008 - although his style was completely different, Zappa was also a visual artist.

[@whatwouldjeebusdo377]

wheres the secret knowledge?

[@whatwouldjeebusdo377]

not seein it but thnx

[@differous01]

Escher's art (like Islamic tiles, Celtic knot-work...) follows rules which, initially at least, are difficult for the layman to grasp so as to reproduce them. We can all enjoy the aesthetic of the art without knowing the mathematical 'secret' which makes it possible.

[@whatwouldjeebusdo377]

hey i love escher too but theres no mathematical secret. its only an optical illusion. theres no secret, no hidden symbolism, no undercurrent, no deep meaning. just trompe d' loeille, 'difficult for the layman to grasp' yah ok lol

[@differous01]

"hey i love escher ... its only an optical illusion... just trompe d' loeille" So... you "love" Escher but not his optical illusions OR his technique? How strange.

[@rkrw576]

It is indeed visually arresting and mathematically fascinating, but rather cold and impersonal.

[@silentwitness9255]

2:15, looks like Jordan Peterson 😳 lol

[@Joshualbm]

Holographic principles.

[@fredricclack7137]

💊 Tripping... 🤔

[@MorpheusOne]

@Art Documentaries: Uploading this documentary in two videos was, and still is, a very dumb thing to do.

[@MisterNiles]

I wonder what would have happened if Escher had smoked dmt.

[@vandaahll]

We would have no MC Escher art

[@MossyMozart]

@MisterNiles - He would have spent all day in a sleepy haze instead of thinking and drwaing.

[@007KrausBean]

Why is Zappa music used in this if Zappa never used any Escher art in his albums? And, no credit given to Zappa at all. Shameful.

[@SeanONilbud]

Why would you be shamed you know nothing dunce.

[@xenontesla122]

His music may be in the "Hollywood Drones" archive listed in the credits.

[@Dreddwinner]

🥪

[@stefan2005stefan]

The earth is flat

[@sloaiza81]

stop trolling

[@sebastianmelmoth685]

I have always found his art to be excruciatingly boring. In the end, it is mostly just wallpaper. Art that fails to communicate feeling with human immediacy and emotion... is ultimately design and not art.

[@hds66nl29]

I understand your point, but it is personal, you may find it boring, others may find it fascinating. A lot of people find it beautifull, inspiring etc and the man definitely had skills so I think labeling it as art is quite accurate.

[@janinegaylard9233]

This combination of art and math is the reason I became a textile designer!

[@yata3826]

Haha Gay lol