Have you ever heard of Escher? I didn’t have a clue who or what this was. That is, until I heard Jim Clifford, founder and CEO of Sonnet Advisory and Impact mention it in the Generative Leaders podcast (produced by our esteemed and downright darling colleague Julia Rebholz).
Taking inspiration from Escher
M.C. Escher was a Dutch artist known for his intricate and mind-bending prints, drawings, and illustrations. You’ll know them when you see them. Taking the time to more carefully examine his life and his art, the conversation on the podcast suddenly made sense. As in the title of the podcast – this answer was staring me in the face.
Here’s the train of thought which Jim explains so well, as it applies to a challenge, an issue or a problem.
“Like an Escher picture or drawing, you look at it from one angle…it shows you something, but if you look at it from another angle, you see a completely different picture. You often won’t get to see the whole picture unless you take the time to look at it from different angles and perspectives”.
So – Escher’s art is not just visually stunning but it also intellectually stimulates, and challenges viewers to question their assumptions and think deeply about the world around them.
Similarly, in life, if a person fails to question or test assumptions, taking the time to work their way around the problem to see the different views or perspectives – the full picture may never come into view. Which means the solution adopted may suffer or even fail as a result. This is also true if a person doubts, or does not believe that there are, indeed, other perspectives to be seen.
The aha! moment
Escher’s art can act as a kind of “aha!” moment for the viewer:
- it helps them to see and understand insights that they may have been aware of on some level but had not fully realised.
- by presenting familiar objects or ideas in new and unconventional ways, Escher’s art can encourage us to see the world from a different perspective and to question our preconceptions.
- by using visual puzzles and illusions, his artwork engages the viewer’s imagination and curiosity, leading them to discover new insights and connections in the world around them.
Taking this on board, we can learn to think beyond conventional boundaries and explore unconventional solutions. We are encouraged to question established norms and challenge our own perceptions (more on this in Sonnet’s blog ‘how listening creates fresh thinking’), fostering a deeper understanding of the complexity and interconnectedness of the world.
Six ways to take inspiration from Escher
I’ve been contemplating how we can unlock our thinking by taking encouragement from Escher’s art, so we ‘try and do’ something in a different way.
What strikes you….if you start to take the ‘Escher’ view ? Can you solve what you thought was impossible?
Kirsten Hopkins, Senior Consultant
