ILLUSION OF THE WEEK!

I have wanted to do a page on the works of Shigeo Fukuda (1932 – 2009) for years. What has prevented me still prevents me, namely not a single image on all the internet accessible to me that shows any detailed representation of any of his works. Fukuda was educated as a commercial artist and graphic designer, and had a lifelong interest in three-dimensional assemblages that incorporated astonishing optical deceptions. Some of his best-known works include (1) a large heap of knives, forks and spoons welded together in what looks like a shapeless pile... but when lit from just the right angle it casts a detailed shadow of a motorcycle. (2) An apparently random assemblage of pieces of a grand piano. When viewed from just the right angle with one eye closed, it looks like a fully-assembled and operating piano. (3) A paper sculpture which shows (from one angle) a seated man playing the violin. Viewed from a direction at right angles to the first, it shows a woman playing a grand piano. The link to Fukuda's name has some images and videos related to an exhibition he gave several years ago.


In the lower image what looks like a back wall is actually a mirror, showing the pieces of the piano from a reverse angle. Below is an “impossible triangle” which Fukuda constructed from ordinary drugstore dice.

Onward to the next illusion?