Gianni A. Sarcone Explained

Gianni A. Sarcone
Birth Date:	1962 3, df=yes
Birth Place:	Vevey, Switzerland
Nationality:	Italian
Other Names:	Giovanni Sarcone
Known For:	Op art, optical illusions, visual creativity, and recreational mathematics
Occupation:	Visual artist and writer

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.

Visual research

Considered a leading authority on visual perception by academic institutions, Sarcone was invited to serve as a juror^[3] at the Third Annual "Best Illusion of the Year Contest" held in Sarasota, Florida (USA). His optical illusion projects 'Mask of Love'^[4] and 'Autokinetic Illusion'^[5] 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’.^[6]

Amongst other notable projects, he created and designed an “hypnoptical”^[7] visual illusion that was used in the logo and institutional signage of the 2014 Grec Festival of Barcelona,^[8] a significant cultural event featuring avant-garde musical, dance, and theater performances.

On October 16, 2021, for the International Observe the Moon Night, his joint work “Moona Lisa” has been selected as Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)^[9] by the NASA.

Honors and awards

Award	Organization	Year	Result
Best Illusion of the Year 2011		2011	Top Ten Finalist^[10]
Best Illusion of the Year 2014		2014	Top Ten Finalist^[11]
Best Illusion of the Year 2017		2017	Won^[12]
Royal Society Young People's Book Prize 2018		2018	Won^[13]
Best Illusion of the Year 2019		2019	Top Ten Finalist^[14]

Educational project

G. Sarcone has authored and published numerous educational textbooks and illustrated books^[15] in English, French and Italian on brain training and the mechanism of vision. He is the founder of Archimedes-lab.org^[16] 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^[17] in Mathematics and received recognition^[18] in the US from: CNN Headline News, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and NewScientist.com.^[19]

Media and broadcasting

Some of Sarcone's artworks such as The Other Face of Paris^[20] or Flashing Star^[21] 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’^[22] (US): "Brain Games Science" (2014).
• ‘Beyond Production’ PTY LTD (Australia): "Wild But True" – Season 1 (2014).
• "Masahiro Nakai’s Useful Library"^[23] show, a widely followed Japanese TV program (June, 2015).

Bibliography

Recent published works (2014-20)

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, .
• Ultimate Eye Twisters, Carlton, UK, 2019, .
• Amazing Optical Illusions, Carlton, UK, 2018, .
• Optical Illusions, QED Publishing, UK, 2017, .
• You Can't Possibly Color This!, Moondance Press, US, 2017, .
• How to draw incredible optical illusions, Imagine Publishing, US, 2015, .
• Xtreme Illusions 2, National Geographic Kids, US, 2015,
• Super Optical Illusions, Carlton Kids, UK, 2014,
• Hidden Picture Puzzles, Imagine Publishing, US, 2014,
• Optical Illusions: An Eye-Popping Extravaganza of Visual Tricks, Dover Publications, US, 2014,
• Impossible Colouring Book: Can You Colour These Amazing Visual Illusions?, Arcturus Publishing, UK, 2014,
• Make Your Own 3D Illusions - 3D illusions pack: All You Need to Build 50 Great Illusions, Carlton Books, UK, 2014,
• Impossible Folding Puzzles and Other Mathematical Paradoxes, Dover Publications, US, 2014,

Non-fiction books in other languages

• Les millors il·lusions òptiques, Editorial Brúixola, Spain, 2020,
• Las mejores ilusiones ópticas, Editorial Bruño, Spain, 2020,
• Optične iluzije, Tehniška Založba Slovenije D.d., Slovenia, 2019,
• Ilusões Óticas, Booksmile, Portugal, 2019,
• Varázslatos optikai csalódások, Ventus Libro Kiadó, Hungary, 2019,
• Optische illusies, Lantaarn Publishers, Netherlands, 2019,
• Ilusões de ótica, Quarto (Nobel), Brazil, 2018,
• Optische Illusionen, Ars Edition, Germany, 2018,
• Illusions d’optique, Fleurus, France, 2018,
• 錯視の魔術, Kyouikugageki, Japan, 2018,
• Optiska illusioner , Ordalaget, Sweden, 2018,
• Illusioni ottiche, Armenia, Italy, 2018,
• Vertigo: 50 Schwindelerregende Optische Illusionen, Moses Verlag, Germany, 2016,
• Optische Täuschungen XXL, Ars Edition, Germany, 2016,
• 謎解き錯視 傑作135選 (135 Mysterious Optic Artworks to Solve), Sogen-Sha, Japan, 2015,
• Libro para colorear figuras imposibles, Editorial HISPANO EUROPEA, Spain, 2014,
• 3D Optiset Harhat, Readme.fi, Finland, 2014,
• Incroyables Illusions d’Optique, Ça m’intéresse, France, 2014,
• 50 Illusions d’Optique 3D, Editions Ça m’intéresse, France, 2014,
• Illusions - Coloriage Créatif, Editions Bravo, Canada, 2014,
• 图中奥秘 : 挑战脑力的错视图 (Amazing Visual Illusions), Qingdao Shi, China, 2013,
• 图有玄机 : 挑战眼力的错视图 (The World of Visual Illusions), Qingdao Shi, China, 2013,
• Le Cabinet des Illusions d’Optique : 100 Illusions Stupéfiantes, Editions Fleurus, France, 2013,
• Удивительные оптические иллюзии (Amazing Visual Illusions), Art-Rodnik, Russian Federation, 2013,
• Рисуем оптические иллюзии (Drawing Optical Illusions), Art-Rodnik, Russian Federation, 2013,
• Kiehtovat Optiset Harhat, Kustannusosakeyhtiö Nemo, Finland, 2013,
• Optische Illusionen, Ars Edition, Germany, 2013,
• Pliages, découpages et magie, Editions Pole, France, 2012,
• De wonderlijke wereld van de optische illusies, Deltas Centrale uitgeverij, The Netherlands, 2012,
• Unglaubliche Optische Illusionen, Verlag an der Este, Germany, 2012, Artikel-Nr.: 019435
• Spectaculaire Optische Illusies, Uitgeverij Atrium, The Netherlands, 2011,
• L’étrange univers des illusions d’optique, Editions Fleurus, France, 2011,
• Ilusiones Opticas, Circulo de Lectores Barcelona, Spain, 2010,
• Fantasticas ilusiones opticas, Editorial Libsa Sa, Spain, 2010,
• Optische Täuschungen, Bassermann F., Germany, 2009,
• Fantastische Optische Illusionen, Tosa Verlagsgesellschaft, Germany, 2008,
• FantaLogica, Edizioni La Meridiana, Italy, 2009,
• Neue Optische Illusionen, Weltbild, Germany, 2008,
• 阿基米德视幻觉游戏 (Archimedes' Visual Illusion Games), China Friendship Publishing Company, China, 2007,
• 视幻觉 (Optical illusions), China Friendship Publishing Company, China, 2007,
• Optische Illusionen, Weltbild, Germany, 2006,
• Niewe Optische Illusies, BZZTOH, The Netherlands, 2006,
• Nouvelles Illusions d’Optique, France Loisirs, France, 2006,
• MateMagica, Edizioni La Meridiana, Italy, 2005,
• L’Almanach du Mathématicien en herbe, Editions Archimède, France, 2002,
• La Couleur dans tous ses états, Editions Yva Peyret, France, 1995,

Personal life

Sarcone has practiced and continues to practice various Martial arts and Combat sports, including Yoseikan budō, Kickboxing, Jujutsu), and holds a black belt in Taekwondo.^[24]

Related links

• Neuroscience
• Op art
• Optical illusion
• Visual thinking
• Thinking outside the box
• Recreational mathematics
• Best Illusion of the Year Contest

External links

• • These Patterns Move But It’s All An Illusion by G. Sarcone
• The Optical Illusion That Makes Static Lines Look Like They're Pulsing
• G. Sarcone's autokinetic illusions on Scene 360
• Archimedes-lab.org
• Rivista Magia
• 2011 Best Visual Illusions of the Year
• 2014 Best Visual Illusions of the Year
• 'Mask of Love' illusion by G. Sarcone
• G. Sarcone’s biography and bibliography on Amazon
• Sarcone’s works on Artstack gallery
• Sarcone’s autokinetic pictures on Saatchi online

Notes and References

1. http://giannisarcone.com/PDF/PDF_MagicaMente_xGioko.pdf Il Club della Magia
2. http://giannisarcone.com/PDF/PDF_Architecture_Tangente.pdf Illusions et trucages
3. http://illusionoftheyear.com/about-the-contest/judges/ Previous Judges
4. http://illusionoftheyear.com/2011/mask-of-love/ Mask of Love
5. http://illusionoftheyear.com/2014/autokinetic-illusion/ Autokinetic Illusion
6. http://illusionoftheyear.com/2017/10/dynamic-muller-lyer-illusion/''Dynamic Müller-Lyer Illusion
7. "Hypnoptical" is a portmanteau word invented in 1999 by G. Sarcone that blends the words ‘hypnotical’ and ‘optical’ together.
8. http://www.revistamusical.cat/el-grec-festival-de-barcelona-2014-amb-el-signe-de-la-contemporaneitat/ Grec Festival 2014
9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211016.html APOD: 2021 October 16
10. Web site: Mask of Love. Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2011.
11. Web site: Autokinetic Illusion. Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2014.
12. Web site: Dynamic Müller-Lyer Illusion. Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2017.
13. Web site: Optical illusions book. Royal Society Young People's Book Prize 2018.
14. Web site: Magic Tic-Tac-Toe. Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2019.
15. http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=gianni+sarcone Sarcone’s partial bibliography
16. http://www.oeconsortium.org/courses/view/aef9a8217994fd8daed5d06f2e7308d2/ Archimedes’ Laboratory
17. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/2003-scitech-web-awards-m/ 2003 Sci/Tech Award
18. http://www.archimedes-lab.org/pressrelease.html Accolades and awards
19. https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/05/best-illusions-masked-face-con.html “Short Sharp Science”, New Scientist
20. https://www.google.it/search?biw=1699&bih=1099&q=other+face+of+paris+sarcone&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSsAEJEJ1IZkhyERkamwELELCMpwgaiAEKOggCEhTuIoYjiB6AHvwX-iOkHpEYlh6UHhogkDbC7vYfBIPDEzw-UqkLFVPyFuicEPD90A5q6C1RxS0KSggDEhSkFYQLhwuDC9MK1QqlFYgLsA6HBBowrf-o5MaaOqlTY_1HmekHJEMIzXkaqabeD4mxLr9V-sm5ZA8j-YY9pAiZLarQY6499DAsQjq7-CBoADCGuzWKnVVvT5w&sa=X&ei=w-TgVP7xIsm0abWSgdgF&ved=0CB8Q2A4oAQ Viral Sarcone’s Other Face of Paris
21. https://www.google.it/search?biw=1699&bih=1099&q=moving+optical+illusions&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSsAEJubjl58WrZxMamwELELCMpwgaiAEKOggCEhTUE9IKtRfLE9cfqxT6Es0TuwrQExogF_1kD-SmqePYZq5gVTeZ7VO6CCfakyVVM1OiSNCl_16S8KSggDEhSDF4AXvh79H9MW1BaRBMsewB7MHhowXHX5W4zYPikyLPVtT9466b53ZuQSPXGVSsGQNAai1-GTn2cRphveg46VumOmI7YgDAsQjq7-CBoADCEue4FiHSxJQg&sa=X&ei=vOPgVJ-1O8fhaPrwgKgG&ved=0CB8Q2A4oAQ Viral Sarcone’s Flashing Star
22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVakQSYL8SA Sarcone’s illusion Hypnotic Vibes
23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po7hSm5k6ME Sarcone’s Mask of Love
24. http://www.taekwondoliguria.it/147-risultati-esami-poom-e-nera-2015-06 Sarcone’s black belt session