SKULL OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
(August 2009 - July 2010)
The metamorphic skull has always been one of the most popular optical illusions. From the 19th century, artists and designers have been using this kind of image in postcards, comics, advertisements or covers.
In
this exhibit we are showing more than fifty examples of this kind of
illusion. We would like to start with the origins of skull illusion.
All is vanity, the image designed by Charles Allan Gilbert, has always
been considered the first skull illusion ever. However, our research
shows that Blosson and Decay, published in 1860 according to several
sources, might be the oldest. Many other skull illusion postcards were
published in the first decades of the 20th century, most of them
included in the exhibit. Skull
illusions have also been used for all kinds of graphic works. There are
numerous examples of pulp magazine covers, satiric posters and, in the
last years, cd covers or movie posters which show them. Lots of
contemporary artists, some of them present in this exhibit, have also
worked with these illusions. A special mention should be made here to
the work by Istvan Orosz, who has made up the most impressive
collection of this kind of illusions. Other
works, which haven´t been included in this exhibit, deserve to be
mentioned here: the artworks by Octavio Ocampo and Salvador Dalí and
other graphic examples used in covers or ads. We must be very grateful
to the collaboration of the artists, right owners and collectors who
have given us permission to publish their artworks.