Plane Filling Motif with Reptiles 1941

M.C. Escher made this dizzying print using a woodcut, which involves painstakingly carving an image into wood. Escher’s piece messes with your head, right? It's all about these reptiles, or maybe they're amphibians, that are interlocking and flipping between being the foreground and background. It's like they're stuck in an endless dance, forever chasing each other, or maybe just stuck in a loop. I am drawn to how Escher plays with positive and negative space, using stark contrast between black and white. This creates a graphic punch that's almost hypnotic, but it’s also kind of funny. The reptiles become abstract shapes, and the shapes become reptiles. It’s like a visual puzzle that keeps changing as you look at it. Escher reminds me of artists like Bridget Riley, who also use repetition and pattern to create optical illusions. But Escher’s work has this playful quality, as if he’s inviting you to join him in a game of perception. What do you think?