The art of deception - Brad Honeycutt

From the world's greatest master illusion artists, including Guido Moretti, Tracy Lee Stum, Vladimir Kush, Rob Gonsalves and Bev Doolittle, to Istvan Orosz, John Langdon, Scott Kim, Oscar Reutersvard, and Donald "Rusty" Rust, THE ART OF DECEPTION is not just an ordinary collection of optical illusions. Author Brad Honeycutt has collected 200 of the finest deceptive images ever assembled that will excite both novices and long-time fans of illusion art. The spectrum spans from classic optical illusions to art that is "made real from the impossible." This collection includes famous paintings, stunning photographs, and computer enhanced visual eye treats that will make your mind's eye blink twice . . . and then smile. Every image was handpicked to feature a specific segment of the illusory spectrum that has one sole purpose--to illustrate the best artistic presentation possible. With commentary by the artists about their vision and techniques, this is an extraordinary book on the art and science of the illusion.

Brad Honeycutt is a web developer and optical illusion enthusiast. For over a decade, he has operated a popular optical illusion website, allowing him the opportunity to get to know many wonderful artists. He works with two of the world's leading stereogram creators to help publish several books containing their 3-D creations. Brad is also the author of EXCEPTIONAL EYE TRICKS and the co-author of THE ART OF THE ILLUSION with Terry Stickels.

Seeing is believing, so they say. But I'm betting "they" never saw The Art of Deception: Illusions to Challenge the Eye and the Mind.

More than a collection of optical illusions (though it surely is that), The Art of Deception features painting, photography and graphic design that's made to make
you look twice. Or three times. These are works that scream out to you:
"Hold on a sec, all is not what it seems."

Take Liu Bolin's photograph of a small wooded area near Beijing.
Looks innocent enough, until you notice the sly presence of a man
standing right in front of you. Is he painted to blend in? Is he
transparent? Or Ben Heine's photograph of a drawing that offers a bird's
eye perspective of a nest of what could be skyscrapers. A young man is
holding the drawing in such a way that he seems to be floating above
them, looking down into them. Or how about Nikita Prokhorov's
tessellation art, in which figures are intertwined in what could be
endless patterns? Or Oscar Reutersvard's impossible figure designs?

There's really almost too much here to marvel at, and your eyes will
widen to amazed orbs as you take it all in. From Punya Mishra's ambigram
of the word "good" with the word "evil" embedded inside it, to Guido
Daniele's paintings of animals on hands, The Art of Deception is a brilliant study of how artists from across the globe see and bend
the world around them. It's not so much a game, though it can be, as it
is an interpretation of the world as they see it. Their juxtapositions
surprise, then illuminate, and finally provide "a-ha!" moments that
leave you smiling.

This wonderful book features a foreword by John Langdon, king of the
ambigram, and bite-sized essays about each work of art. They don't give
the secret of the work away, but each one offers a glimpse into the mind
of the artist and a peek at what he or she is trying to accomplish
within each piece.
-January Magazine