I came across the above art work by M.C.
Escher titled “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” produced in January 1935, during my
course of study in Communication Culture and Media, and
in attempt to make meaning out of the image I did a critical analysis adopting Michael Foucault's theory which talks about the notion of power, identity, and truth and notions of other scholars like Strinati and Barthes. I am sure you will find this interesting….Read on below ….
According to Barthes, R (1988: 168), “the
description of a work is always sought in the man or women who produced it, as
if it were always in the end, through the more or less transparent allegory of
the fiction, the voice of a single person, the author ‘confiding’ in us”.
The
Dutch artist Maurits C. Escher was a draftsman, book illustrator, tapestry
designer, and muralist, but his major work was as a print maker. Born 1898 in
Leeuwarden, in a house that forms part of the Princesseh of Ceramics Museum
today, Escher spent most of his childhood in Arnhem. He was the youngest son of civil engineer
George Arnold Escher, aspiring to be an architect, Escher enrolled in the
School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem. While studying there
from 1919 to 1922, his emphasis shifted from architecture to drawing and
printmaking upon the encouragement of his teacher Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita.
In 1924 Escher married Jetta Umiker, and the couple settled in Rome to raise a
family. They resided in Italy until 1935, when growing political turmoil forced
them to move first to Switzerland, then to Belgium. In 1941, with World War II
under way and German troops occupying Brussels, Escher returned to Holland and
settled in Baarn, where he lived and worked until shortly before his death in
March 27, 1972, at the age of 73.
Escher is commonly recognized for his “so-called impossible structures”, but he also
did several magnificent, more realistic works while he was in Italy; his
creative expression was formed from images in his mind, rather than directly
from observations and travels to other countries. He did most of his work
mainly in the media of lithographs and woodcuts, though the few mezzotints he
made are considered to be masterpieces of the technique. In his graphic art, he
portrayed mathematical relationships among shapes, figures and space.
Additionally, he explored interlocking figures using black and white to enhance
different dimensions. Integrated into his prints were mirror images of cones,
spheres, cubes, rings and spirals. M.C. Escher’s exceptional thought process
and opulent graphic work has continuously influenced science and art work and
also being referenced in culture. He frolicked
around with architecture, perspective and impossible spaces, in his work, one
could identify his intense observation of the world around us, how he put it
too work, made fascinating meaning of it and the expressions of his personal imaginations.
M.C. Escher makes us aware that reality is wondrous, comprehensible and
fascinating. (Escher, M.C 2012)
Taking
a look at M.C. Escher’s “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” the first thing that
comes to the mind of the viewer is that it is an art work in black and white, a
picture, one that depicts a person or a man holding a transparent round object,
a man looking at the reflection of himself in a round shaped transparent object
in a sitting room which can be argued to be his seating room, the image of a
living room, a man sitting alone in the room because he appears to be the only
one there, an academician or a man who likes to read because he has quite a
number of properly arranged books on his shelf and also someone who likes art
works because he has a few distinct art works on his wall. The representation
of what is seen is just an image of a man in his living room staring at the
reflection of himself to someone who hasn’t heard about Escher, is not familiar
with his works or seen him, but for someone who is familiar with his art work,
it will be easy to understand that it is representation of Escher and will be
more likely to understand his point of view and the message he is trying to
pass across.
The
motif behind the reflective sphere and the setting can be said be an act by the
artiste to paint a picture of the message he is trying to pass across in a
somewhat real form and make the viewers see exactly what he wants them to see
from his point of view. A reflection can be said to be the replication of a
thing or an image on another, The Law of Reflection describes it simply as
"The angle of incidence is equal to
the angle of reflection." (Hutton,
C. 1815:295) Escher can be said to have used reflection as a means of gaining
the trust of the audience with the notion that anything being reflected is said
to be a replica of what it is reflected on and the mirror effect which is
generally known to everyone as what you see is the exact image. The use of the
sphere can also be said to be deliberate, considering that the world is
spherical in shape in its totality, Escher can be argued to have used this in
order to portray the totality of a man’s being, the world of a man in its
entirety. The image, however, can be said to be a representation of various ideologies
such as: Identity, self, Control, Power, State of being, Reality and fiction,
Space and time and entirety.
The
image can be seen from two different angles; the hand holding the sphere is one
and the image inside the sphere is another, however, they both rely on and
complement each other. The hand is what the sphere relies on to get the angle
of image that it reflects; giving the image in the sphere its desired reflection
which can be said to be what Escher sees himself and also wants his viewers to
see. According to Schroeder, A. (2009), “representation could be thought of as
means of depicting or portraying of a subject, which relied upon the connection
between the rendition and the original”. Escher’s work can be said to be an illustration
of how a man/Escher sees himself, it connotes this is who he is, the image of
himself, what he looks like and his makeup. It identifies him as a man,
probably in his 60’s or 70’s, an European, whose dress sense in the image
identifies as a professional. This could suggest that your identity can be
determined by your appearance, the way you live, what is found around you and
the way you dress. But is that really how Escher sees or how he identifies
himself or what he wants his viewers to see him or identify him as? As Minh-na
(1989) noted, our search for meaning is almost the same as our quest for our
different forms of being. Foucault cited
in Gauntlett, D (2002) similarly stated that people are often referred to as
though they have certain characteristics as 'things' within them, they have an
identity, for instance, there is the notion that in a person’s heart, there is
a fixed and real identity (even if we're not sure that we know quite what that
is, for a particular person). There is an assumption that people have an inner
underlying essence and qualities that define the person’s real attribute. It is
also said that certain people have (different levels of) power which means that
they are probably able to achieve their desired objective in the course of
their interaction with people and the society in general. (Foucault cited in
Gauntlett, D. 2002)
The
image is also a representation of time and space. There is an illumination from
the window in the picture behind the image of the hand other than the one holding
the sphere, this illumination which is as a result of the sun reflecting from
the window indicates that it is a sunny summer afternoon, it gives the image a
form of reality as to when the event occurred and the time of the day, also as
a form of reflection, the sun helped give the image the reflective effect. The
window which appears as the only source of illumination can be said to have
been targeted and used deliberately by Escher to create the desired effect as
the window through the sphere could be seen to appear directly behind him with
the curtains shifted open at both sides. As Strauss (1958) noted, all
representations have ideologies behind them and certain paradigms are fixed
into texts while some are left out with the aim of achieving a desired
representation. (Levi Strauss 1958)
Reality
is one of the major things Escher tried to make evident in his work, because
the whole concept of the art work can be argued to be as a result of trying to
present a picture of what is happening around him in reality. The singular act
of drawing a picture of himself is a form of the reality that he exists, he
went beyond that to paint a picture of what is around him and his own little
world in which he exists in “The
author-function is therefore characteristic of the mode of existence,
circulation, and functioning of certain discourses within a society”
(Foucault 1977: 108). The representation of the hand seen in a somewhat half
form holding the sphere and the other part of it reflecting inside the sphere
gives the viewers the impression that the act is real because in reality when a
person is holding an object like that the same form of reflection will be
derived. However, one of the hands in
the image which is meant to be the hand of the artiste is seen placed on his lap
while the second hand is holding the reflecting sphere, a keen viewer looking
at this image is left with different assumptions of what the artiste is trying
to derive and what form of reality or fiction is being portrayed because it can
be argued that Escher’s image was as a product of a different medium i.e. probably
someone took the picture, he set a still camera or just a product of his
imagination because it can be argued to be impossible for him to have both
hands engaged at the same time and also be involved in the painting. There is
the notion that it was after the modern era the people became anxious about the
representation of reality, which has become mixed up and made us have
imitation, parody and intertextuality. As Strinati, D (1995) stated, “reality
is now only definable in terms of the reflections of the mirror”. This mirror
image is a medium Escher used in a good effect to present his reality and gain
a certain degree of trust from the viewer.
Taking
another look at the position of the hands, the outer hand that is holding the
sphere appears to be the left hand, while the reflection inside the sphere
shows that it is the right hand that is holding the sphere. This is an accurate
representation of reality, as the mirror effect would appear to change the left
to be the right and vice versa, confirming Escher’s representation of
‘reality’. On the other hand, in the quest of trying to understand which hand
is actually holding the sphere, one could assume that it is both hands, which
can be argued to be Escher’s motif of trying to portray that both hands are in
control or that it doesn't matter which hand is holding it or how you handle or
position your life, it is in your hands and can be controlled in any form. It
can also be argued to be a way of gaining the viewer’s trust and convincing
them that it doesn't matter what hand is holding the sphere, or what direction
it faces, the same view will still be portrayed and thus gaining their trust.
“Truth is a thing of this world: it is
produced only by virtue of multiple forms of constraint. And it induces regular effects of power. Each society has its regime of truth, its
“general politics” of truth: that is, the types of discourse which it accepts
and makes function as true; the mechanisms and instances which enable one to
distinguish true and false statements, the means by which each is sanctioned;
the techniques and procedures accorded value in the acquisition of truth; the
status of those who are charged with saying what counts as true” (Foucault,
in Rabinow 1991).
Nevertheless,
the form reality projected by the image can be questioned at this point, if
Escher’s objective was to actually make the viewers see him the way he is, that
intention might be lost at this point as the viewers will think he just
produced a version of what he wants them to see, because it is not just the position of his hands that is
seen as deliberate or deceiving but also the position of the sphere against the
plain wall which could be argued to be an attempt to keep the viewers from
seeing the actual entirety of his world in contrast to the motif of the sphere
which represents wholeness. It is easy for the viewers to read their own
meanings to this image as they are left conflicted as to what to accept as the
actual representation due to the elements involved, the concepts that could be
understood or verified only by the author and as Barthes (1977) said, “the
death of the author is the birth of the reader”. However, to Escher that is the
representation of his world and how he wants the viewers to see it whether or
not the real intent is lost it is believed as a ‘reality’, it is the author’s ‘reality’
even if it is just a product of his imagination. Hammonda (2012) mentioned
that, “We often judge a text’s realism
against our own ‘situated culture’. What is ‘real’ can therefore become
subjective”. The image can be said to be a representation of the mental
picture of what Escher makes of himself or what he thinks of himself and how he
wants to be seen. Escher in this image provides awareness into his world that describes
him as an artist. Here, the subject is presented as an object in its
representation in order to generate different denotation which should appear
real. This at this point could suggest that the way you are seen is determined
by the way you see and present yourself, which means you are in control of your
life and hold it in your hands. Though, David Gauntlett (2007) debates that “identity is complicated, everybody thinks they've got one and Artists play with the idea of identity in modern society”
but in Escher’s work, the identity created is of himself and if at all he is
playing with the idea, it appears to be the identity he has created or is
creating for himself.
Control
and power is evident in the image, it show that a man is responsible for what
becomes of him, how he lives his life and his entire being. It can also be said
to depict that you hold your life in your hands and in control of how you are
seen and the way you want people to see you. It shows absolute control and
power because Escher depicted himself holding the sphere in a particular
direction in such a way that only what he wants the viewers to see could be seen,
he also held the sphere in a one dimensional angle towards a plane wall leaving
only the desired angle to be seen, he could have easily placed the sphere on a
table or an object but he decided to have absolute control of what he intends
to portray. He had absolute control of what he was thinking or what he had in
his mind and presented it as such without interference. Escher in his work did
not just represent himself as being in control of his life and being but also
in control of what he wanted the viewers to see and the way he wanted them to
see it. According to Foucault (1998), power is not a possession that a person
can acquire; but it is used during interactions. He sees power as something
that links relationships and that it is somewhat impossible to assert that a
person is powerful but they are more likely to find themselves in the position
of power or had chances to exercise power. “Power
is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from
everywhere … Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a
certain strength we are endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a
complex strategical situation in a particular society”’. (Foucault .M in Gauntlett .D,
2004 : 117-118) this suggests that power is situational and can be exercised
in different forms depending on the person in control and situation in which
they find themselves in despite their state of being, social or racial class. This
is manifest in Escher’s work as he can be said to be using the image to convey
a message of a situation he has power over.
The
image depicts his exact state of being, it reflects him seating on a chair stretching
out his hand holding a spherical reflective abject in his hand towards his face
to get a clearer view and staring intensively into it looking at himself with a
somewhat straight and serious face, gazing at his image into the reflection of
his world and entire being. Escher, popularly known as an artiste that often
engages in art works that are spherical, could be said to be engaging in the
act of reflection, putting himself in the act and trying to capture his world
in a spherical point of view and could be trying to reveal that his world is
spherical. Different things can also be said to be running through his mind as
he gazes at himself e.g. he could be wondering if this is really him, or asking
himself if this is what he truly looks like, or probably a sense of
disappointment in his being because the image also depicts desolation and
loneliness. He appears to be alone in the house as there is no one else seen in
the living room and the neat and void appearance of the room suggest that there
is hardly anyone living in the house besides him, despite the books on his
shelf and paintings on his wall which suggests that he is not totally an island
of his own, he still appears lonely. He can also, just as the viewer be as
confused as to who he really is or in a quest for self-discovery and could also
be said to engaging in the act of reflection, trying to reflect on his life
thus far and his experiences/achievement, what could have been, what should be
and what it has become. The form of reflection here is as defined by Amulya, J.
(2011) which states that, “Reflection is an active process of witnessing one’s
own experience in order to take a closer look at it, sometimes to direct
attention to it briefly, but often to explore it in greater depth”. Escher putting himself in the same position
as the viewer might also be an attempt to come in terms with his own being and
reality and the reality he wants the viewers to see.
Escher’s
work “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” raises questions in terms of his techniques
of representation and the authenticity of his so called ‘reality’. The author
may have died so many times in the text but had to be resurrected or
reincarnated because in him lies the real meaning of the text and the message
he is trying to portray can actually be sort out mainly in him as he is the
only one who has access to the ‘truth’ because what may be ‘true’ to him, might
not be true to the viewers and as stated above, “all representations have ideologies behind them and certain paradigms
are fixed into texts while some are left out with the aim of achieving a
desired representation by the author”. (Levi Strauss 1958), and as Foucault
(1988:200) noted, it is compulsory that the space left empty by the author’s
disappearance is found, trail the spreading of gaps and breaches, and watch the
openings that this disappearance reveals.
