Escher - shorthand for...

The thought of Dutch Escher paintings evokes feelings of the surreal, the oppressively surreal even. In American journalism, the mention of Escher paintings often is used as a shorthand for difficult-to-describe, eerie emotions, or just something plain weird:

«The visual effect is like standing inside an M.C. Escher painting, wavy columns that appear to be marching...»
Guy Raz on a building in Berlin.

« This isn't a recall. It's an Escher drawing. And it gets worse. The price tag for mounting this circus? »
John Ridley on the last California elections

«...who specializes in skewed perspectives and weirdly repetitive dreamscapes. Think M.C. Escher on ecstasy. »
Nathan Rabin on MTV music videos

Gisela Strauss
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