A woman once rang me up and said, 'Mr. Escher, I am absolutely crazy about your work. In your print -Reptiles- you have given such a striking illustration of reincarnation.' I replied, 'Madam, if that's the way you see it, so be it.' M. C. Escher More Quotes by M. C. Escher More Quotes From M. C. Escher I try in my prints to testify that we live in a beautiful and orderly world, and not in a formless chaos, as it sometimes seems. M. C. Escher trying beautiful world In mathematical quarters, the regular division of the plane has been considered theoretically. ... [Mathematicians] have opened the gate leading to an extensive domain, but they have not entered this domain themselves. By their very nature they are more interested in the way in which the gate is opened than in the garden lying behind it. M. C. Escher division garden lying I might be in the basement. I'll go upstairs and check. M. C. Escher upstairs checks might To have peace with this peculiar life; to accept what we do not understand; to wait calmly for what awaits us, you have to be wiser than I am. M. C. Escher accepting peculiar waiting Simplicity and order are, if not the principal, then certainly the most important guidelines for human beings in general. M. C. Escher simplicity important order I never got a pass mark in math... Just imagine - mathematicians now use my prints to illustrate their books. Funny me consorting with all these learned folks, as though I were their long lost brother. I guess they are unaware of the fact that I am ignorant about the whole thing. M. C. Escher brother beauty art The things I want to express are so beautiful and pure. M. C. Escher pure want beautiful The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these hobbies or problems...I have embarked on this geometric problem again and again over the years, trying to throw light on different aspects each time. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if this problem had never occurred to me; one might say that I am head over heels in love with it, and I still don't know why. M. C. Escher light trying years I am myself: a light. In me you find your fate. So be not blind to the truth shining from my glow. M. C. Escher fate shining light Drawing is deception. M. C. Escher drawing deception art As far as I know, there is no proof whatever of the existence of an objective reality apart from our senses, and I do not see why we should accept the outside world as such solely by virtue of our senses. M. C. Escher virtue reality world To tell you the truth, I am rather perplexed by the concept of 'art'. What one person considers to be 'art' is often not 'art' to another. 'Beautiful' and 'ugly' are old-fashioned concepts that are seldom applied these days; perhaps justifiably, who knows? Something repulsive, which gives you a moral hangover, and hurts your ears or eyes, may well be art. Only 'kitsch' is not art - we're all agreed about that. Indeed, but what is 'kitsch'? If only I knew! M. C. Escher hurt beautiful art I think I have never yet done any work with the aim of symbolizing a particular idea, but the fact that a symbol is sometimes discovered or remarked upon is valuable for me because it makes it easier to accept the inexplicable nature of my hobbies, which constantly preoccupy me. M. C. Escher facts ideas thinking I don't grow up. In me is the small child of my early days. M. C. Escher growing-up grows children At moments of great enthusiasm it seems to me that no one in the world has ever made something this beautiful and important. M. C. Escher passion beautiful art I might be in the basement. I'll go upstairs and check. We adore chaos because we love to produce order. I don't use drugs; my dreams are frightening enough. M. C. Escher clever dream funny I am always wandering around in enigmas. There are young people who constantly come to tell me: you, too, are making Op Art. I haven't the slightest idea what that is, Op Art. I've been doing this work for thirty years now. M. C. Escher years ideas art If I am not mistaken, the word "art" and "artist" did not exist during the Renaissance and before: there were simply architects, sculptors, and painters, practicing a trade. M. C. Escher renaissance architect art There is something breathtaking about the basic laws of crystals. They are in no sense a discovery of the human mind; they just "are" - they exist quite independently of us. The most that man can do is become aware, in a moment of clarity, that they are there, and take cognizance of them. M. C. Escher law discovery men I could fill an entire second life with working on my prints. M. C. Escher print
