In Ebihens, France, an interesting natural optical illusion can be seen called the Apache Head in the Rocks.  A face can be seen looking to the left.  Green grass growing on top of the mountain, resembling hair, further enhances the illusion.

Optical illusions like this one are a result of something known as pareidolia.  This is a psychological phenomenon where something random or vague is perceived as having some significance.  The most common example used to describe pareidolia is when a face, animal or some other figure can be seen in clouds or rocks.  To see another example of this, you may want to revisit our previous post where the head of an elephant could be seen on the face of Mars.

The Mona Lisa was painted by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci in the early 1500’s.  Since that time, it has become one of the most famous and recognized works of art in the world.  It is hard to imagine that da Vinci would have foreseen the following incarnation of his painting by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, but he certainly would have liked it.  Her face appears to be unstable and moving.

More incredible motion illusions, like the Leaf Wave Illusion,  can be found on Akiyoshi Kitaoka’s site.

The Art of the Illusion: Deceptions to Challenge the Eye and the Mind is a new book from Brad Honeycutt and Terry Stickels featuring a foreword by renowned puzzle creator and game designer Scott Kim.  The book contains more than 200 stunningly deceptive optical illusion works of art from artists around the globe.  The cover, shown below, features a work titled ‘Ladies of the Lake’ from Rob Gonsalves.

The book is currently available for sale at your favorite bookseller such as Amazon or BN.

Donald “Rusty” Rust is an American painter focusing primarily on wildlife scenes and portraits.  Some of his works also feature illusionary elements involving hidden objects or other deceptive techniques.  His work is featured in a number of prestigious collections including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Philadelphia, PA.  Rusty has produced more than 15,000 paintings over his illustrious career.  In his painting below titled “Two Birds With One Stone”, a hunter and his dog spot a bird perched on a snowy rock in a creek.  Can you find the second bird hidden in this scene?

More of Rusty’s paintings can be viewed on his personal website at Rusty Art.

A young woman holding a book looks out her window toward the horizon.  As she does, she gets the feeling that a man is watching over her.

Elena Moskaleva is a Russian artist who frequently paints gentle, camouflaged landscapes resulting in a mixture of beauty and deception.  More paintings from Elena Moskaleva can be viewed here.

In 1893, American illustrator Peter Newell released a novelty children’s book titled Topsys and Turvys.  This book, and the follow-up volume Topsys and Turvys – Number 2 released in 1894, featured pictures and rhymes that could be viewed and read both right side up and upside down.   An enchanting transformation occurs when any page of his books is inverted.  An elephant becomes an ostrich, a German farmer becomes a pig, a bearded man becomes a squirrel and a shepherd becomes a goat.  Each of these illustrations showcases his ingenuity and imagination as much as they do his talents as a gifted artist.  As a testament to Peter Newell’s creativity, these books are still in print even though they were originally published over a century ago.

Continue reading this post to view another of Peter Newell’s topsy-turvy illustrations.

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When you look at the following ambigram, do you first see FACT or FICTION?  Or do you see another word?

Oftentimes, it seems like the two are indistinguishable.  The designer of this work, Michigan State University professor Punya Mishra, ponders:

“The question is… is that fact and fiction or is it making a meta statement about both by actually reading faction?”