Gianni A. Sarcone (born March 20, 1962) is a visual artist and author who collaborates with educational publications, writing articles and columns on topics related to art, science, and mathematics education. He has contributed to several science magazines, including Focus Junior[1] (Italy), Query-CICAP (Italy), Rivista Magia (Italy), Alice & Bob / Bocconi University (Italy), Brain Games (USA), and Tangente[2] (France). Sarcone has over 30 years of experience as a designer and researcher in the areas of visual creativity, recreational mathematics and educational games.
Op art, optical illusions, visual creativity, and recreational mathematics
Website
www.giannisarcone.com
Visual researchedit
Considered a leading authority on visual perception by academic institutions, Sarcone was invited to serve as a juror[4] at the Third Annual "Best Illusion of the Year Contest" held in Sarasota, Florida (USA). His optical illusion projects 'Mask of Love'[5] and 'Autokinetic Illusion'[6] were named among the top 10 best optical illusions in the 2011 and 2014 "Best Illusion of the Year Contests", respectively. In 2017, he placed third in the contest for his ‘Dynamic Müller-Lyer Illusion’.
[7]
Amongst other notable projects, he created and designed an “hypnoptical”[8] visual illusion that was used in the logo and institutional signage of the 2014 Grec Festival of Barcelona,[9] a significant cultural event featuring avant-garde musical, dance, and theater performances.
G. Sarcone has authored and published numerous educational textbooks and illustrated books[16] in English, French and Italian on brain training and the mechanism of vision. He is the founder of Archimedes-lab.org[17] a consulting network of experts specializing in improving and enhancing creativity - for which he has been commended with a long list of accolades and awards, including the 2003 Scientific American Sci/Tech Web Award[18] in Mathematics and received recognition[19] in the US from: CNN Headline News, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and NewScientist.com.[20]
Media and broadcastingedit
Some of Sarcone's artworks such as The Other Face of Paris[21] or Flashing Star[22] have gone viral on the Internet.
His works were also presented in several national and international television programs, including 'Rai 3' Italy, 'RTL 9 Channel' France, 'TSR 1 Channel' Switzerland, and in the following TV series:
‘Nippon Television Network’ / NTV (Japan): "Fukashigi"; Japanese: 不可思議探偵団 (2012).
‘National Geographic Television’[23] (US): "Brain Games Science" (2014).
‘Beyond Production’ PTY LTD (Australia): "Wild But True" – Season 1 (2014).
"Masahiro Nakai’s Useful Library"[24] show, a widely followed Japanese TV program (June, 2015).
Selected worksedit
Gianni Sarcone, 1998, The Other Face of Paris (aka The Eiffel Girl), photograph, 66 x 91 cm, Private collection, Paris (France).
Gianni Sarcone, 2001, Master of Numbers, mixed media / collage, 76 x 76 cm, Museum of Illusions, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
Gianni Sarcone, 2003, Hold on Tight, mixed media, 76 x 76 cm, Museum of Illusions, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
Gianni Sarcone, 1997, Hypnotic Vibes, mixed media, 70 x 70 cm, Museum of Illusions, Ljubljana (Slovenia).
Gianni Sarcone, 2011, Apparition, mixed media, 122 x 122 cm, Museum of Illusions, Ljubljana (Slovenia).
Gianni Sarcone, 2013, Mystic Bat (aka Mystic Flying Bat), mixed media, 122 x 122 cm, Private collection, Florence (Italy).
Bibliographyedit
Recent published works (2014-20)edit
G. Sarcone is the author (and co-author) of the following books:
Fantastic Optical Illusions: More Than 150 Deceptive Images and Visual Tricks, Carlton, UK, 2020, ISBN 178739235X.
Ultimate Eye Twisters, Carlton, UK, 2019, ISBN 1783124482.
Amazing Optical Illusions, Carlton, UK, 2018, ISBN 1787391639.
Optical Illusions, QED Publishing, UK, 2017, ISBN 1784938475.
You Can't Possibly Color This!, Moondance Press, US, 2017, ISBN 1633223515.
How to draw incredible optical illusions, Imagine Publishing, US, 2015, ISBN 1623540607.
Xtreme Illusions 2, National Geographic Kids, US, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4263-1974-7
Super Optical Illusions, Carlton Kids, UK, 2014, ISBN 1783120851
Hidden Picture Puzzles, Imagine Publishing, US, 2014, ISBN 1623540380
Optical Illusions: An Eye-Popping Extravaganza of Visual Tricks, Dover Publications, US, 2014, ISBN 0486493547
Impossible Colouring Book: Can You Colour These Amazing Visual Illusions?, Arcturus Publishing, UK, 2014, ISBN 178212182X
Make Your Own 3D Illusions - 3D illusions pack: All You Need to Build 50 Great Illusions, Carlton Books, UK, 2014, ISBN 1780974817
Impossible Folding Puzzles and Other Mathematical Paradoxes, Dover Publications, US, 2014, ISBN 0486493512
Non-fiction books in other languagesedit
Les millors il·lusions òptiques, Editorial Brúixola, Spain, 2020, ISBN 8499062962
Las mejores ilusiones ópticas, Editorial Bruño, Spain, 2020, ISBN 846962721X
Optične iluzije, Tehniška Založba Slovenije D.d., Slovenia, 2019, ISBN 9789612514464
Ilusões Óticas, Booksmile, Portugal, 2019, ISBN 9789897076589
Varázslatos optikai csalódások, Ventus Libro Kiadó, Hungary, 2019, ISBN 9786155755439
Optische illusies, Lantaarn Publishers, Netherlands, 2019, ISBN 9789463543101
Ilusões de ótica, Quarto (Nobel), Brazil, 2018, ISBN 9780857625533
Optische Illusionen, Ars Edition, Germany, 2018, ISBN 9783845826592
Illusions d’optique, Fleurus, France, 2018, ISBN 2215136839
錯視の魔術, Kyouikugageki, Japan, 2018, ISBN 4774621277
Optiska illusioner , Ordalaget, Sweden, 2018, ISBN 9789174692211
Illusioni ottiche, Armenia, Italy, 2018, ISBN 8834432290