Other World (Another World) 1947

Editor: Okay, next up we have M.C. Escher's "Other World," a lithograph from 1947. It's quite striking, this architectural space filled with… planetary views and peculiar birds. It feels like a stage set for a very strange play. What’s your take? What stands out to you? Curator: Ah, Escher. He's always inviting us to reconsider the architecture of reality itself. Here, it's not just a stage, but a simultaneous unfolding of inner and outer landscapes. The impossible space he creates, formed with precise lines, is reminiscent of Renaissance perspective, yet twisted, dreamlike. And those birds... those eternally observing birds. Don’t they feel like little philosophers perched on the edge of existence? Do you get a sense they are somehow *us* looking at the other panels and up and down? Editor: Definitely. I can see what you mean about Renaissance perspective. And yes, the birds do seem like us, like stand-ins, looking into other dimensions almost. It makes you wonder what "world" is considered other? Is it the cosmos, or the world where that odd bird makes sense? Curator: Exactly! Which is "real"? Escher challenges us, delightfully. The repeating arches give it an endless, labyrinthine feeling. It’s the mind's own architecture he is building isn’t it? Trapped or freed depending on your viewpoint. Look, he offers us a ladder, but is it a way out, or simply a step deeper in? The stars aren’t outside, you know. We carry them with us… Editor: I hadn't thought of the arches as potentially trapping, but that makes sense with Escher. This reminds me of some Jorge Luis Borges stories. It really makes you think about perspective. Curator: Borges, yes, perfectly! We’re trapped in a beautiful, infinite library of perspectives, eternally rearranging ourselves within it. What a terrifying thought - in the best way possible. Editor: Absolutely, and definitely gives you a new way of approaching a relatively familiar artist.