Puzzle Me This

Mind-bending puzzles and painstakingly trippy constructions have secured M.C. Escher as a household name. Posters of Relativity — the print that animated baby genius Stewie Griffin once referred to as Crazy Stairs — are as ubiquitous among the college set as Jim Belushi’s College. So it’s no surprise that parodies of his work are endless, from scenes in A Nightmare on Elm Street to The Simpsons Movie to another memorable Family Guy moment in which Peter Griffin describes his new business as being “weirder than that rap video by M.C. Escher.” The episode proceeds to show Escher in M.C. Hammer garb running inside Relativity and rapping, “Going up the stairs, and going down the stairs, and going up the stairs, and going down the stairs, and going up the sideways stairs.”

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More About

• M.C. Escher
• Stewie Griffin
• Peter Griffin
• Sitcoms
• Animated Sitcoms

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And that’s only one print. Other widely familiar pieces include Reptiles, in which a line of lizards emerges from a pattern only to circle back and reenter the puzzle; Eye, featuring an eyeball that reflects a skull; and Drawing Hands, that piece of paper with two hands that emerge to draw each other. These will all be on view for “The Magical World of M.C. Escher” exhibit, along with more than 140 of the artist’s other works, including drawings, watercolors, prints, wood blocks, studio furniture, and memorabilia. The exhibit runs through April 11 at the Boca Museum of Art (801 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton) and . Admission is $6 to $14 but free for members. Call 561-392-2500, or visit bocamusuem.org.
Wednesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, noon. Starts: Jan. 20. Continues through April 11, 2010