"Escher and the Droste Effect"

A special lecture by

Hendrik Lenstra

Monday Evening
May 12, 2003
7:30

Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Stanford University
Tickets* $8.00

This talk is intended for a general audience.

M.C. Escher, the graphic artist famous for mathematical patterns and optical illusions, left a blank spot in the middle of his 1956 lithograph, "Print Gallery". Escher signed his name there, instead of completing the center of this picture of curved and whirling buildings. In 2002, a team of mathematicians, computer programmers, and artists used techniques from advanced mathematics to figure out how Escher might have completed the picture. The team was led by Hendrik Lenstra, who will reveal the secrets behind the mysterious blank space during the 2003 AIM-Stanford Public Lecture. The lecture will take place on Monday, May 12, at 7:30 pm in the Dinkelspiel Auditorium on the Stanford University campus. The presentation and explanation of the mystery will include a number of beautiful images and animations.

Hendrik Lenstra is Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands. Dr Lenstra is a world-renowned mathematician who is known for the clarity and wit of his lectures. His presentation will be aimed at a general audience and should appeal to anyone interested in art, mathematics, or the intersection of the two subjects.

For pictures of the completed work, visit the Print Gallery homepage.

Tickets are $8, and are available at the Stanford Ticket Office, 650-725-ARTS, or through the Stanford Ticket Office webpage.

The talk is part of an annual public lecture series sponsored jointly by the American Institute of Mathematics and the Stanford University Mathematics Department.

Poster announcing the event.

Directions to Dinkelspiel Auditorium.