Video Viewing.

M.C. Escher: Master of Graphic Art. Morris Plains, NJ: Lucerne Media (800-341-2293), 1999. VHS format, 23 min., $ 89.00plus 4.00 S&H.

The marvel of an artist's mind becomes readily apparent as one views this excellent video about the brilliantly inventive, Dutch artist Mauritz Escher. Beginning with his early sketches and linoleum prints while still of high school age, we move through the wonderful images from his long and prolific artistic career. Excellent narration accompanys the artworks from early woodcuts of Italian hill towns through his later explorations into metamorphosing images of birds, fish, and human forms. The narrator also provides helpful technical information about print processes as the artist moved from woodcuts through lithography and into his final works in the demanding process of mezzotint. We also are made aware of Escher's labels for several of his print groupings--Translations, Axis Forms, Glide Reflections, and so on. The influence of his travels is evident in his architecturally-oriented works, as well as the influences of Moorish tile designs that form the Alhambra on his later imaginative work. This video should inform and energize secondary school levels and beyond.

Tessellations: How to Create Them. Jim McNeill. Glenview, IL: Crystal Productions (800-255-8629), 1999. VHS format, 20 min., $29.95 plus $5.00 S & H.

This videotape begins with a definition of the term tessellations and refers to its historical roots in Islamic design. After a brief reference to the work of M.C. Escher, McNeill shows several of his own tessellation designs, dealing with contemporary topics of football and even punk rockers in a mosh pit. He suggests that there are three basic approaches to this art form described as Translations, Rotations, and Reflections. He then proceeds to demonstrate in a step-by-step process, how each method is achieved. McNeill employs a cut-paper template cutting and arranging approach to create his tessellation examples. The video concludes by showing a number of examples of work by his students. This video would be most appropriate at the high school level.