January 21, 2009 | 9 comments

Sculpting the Impossible: Solid Renditions of Visual Illusions

Artists find mind-bending ways to bring visual illusions called impossible figures into three-dimensional reality.

By Stephen L. Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde

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Impossible Figures

The “Elusive Arch,” by Dejan Todorović of the University of Belgrade, Serbia, shows a new impossible figure. The left-hand portion of the figure appears as three shiny oval tubes. The right-hand portion appears to be three alternating pairs of shallow matte ridges and grooves. The bright streaks on the figure’s surface are seen as either highlights at the peaks and troughs of the tubes or as inflections between grooves. Determining the direction of the apparent illumination falling on the figure is difficult: it depends on whether we interpret the light as falling on a receding or an expanding surface. Further, determining the exact position and shape of the transition region near the center of the arch is maddening, as the local 3-D interpretations defy the laws of illumination.

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