"Trick or treat" time will come around again tomorrow, so for this Friday's Arty Farty subject here's an artist who delights in giving viewers a treat by tricking their eyes: Oleg Shuplyak. He's from Ukraine, born on 23 September 1967 in the Ternopil region.
Shuplyak must surely have been inspired by an artist from centuries past whose work has always intrigued me, too: Arcimboldo (see archived post HERE)
There's a selection of Oleg Shuplyak's work at, among other websites, Art Galaxie. Thumbnails there will enlarge by clicking on them. Google Image will bring up further examples of his work.
From YouTube:
It's occasionally an effort to get the correct focus (squinting will sometimes help a lot) before the trick becomes fully obvious.
Let's have a look at the artist's natal chart, perhaps his talent for eye-trickery will be reflected there.
Born on 23 September 1967. I've set the chart for 12 noon in Ternopil, Moon's position will not be exact and ascendant will remain unknown without a correct time of birth.
His natal Virgo Sun conjunct Uranus and Pluto has to be the first clue! Uranus, planet of the unexpected, and of invention; Pluto's transformative nature and unusual depth of scrutiny - all in meticulous Virgo - what could better reflect this artist's special talents? The Virgo cluster is flanked by a semi-sextile to Venus (planet of the arts) and Jupiter in Leo on one side and to Mercury in Libra on the other. Astrologers sometimes write that semi-sextiles are "uncomfortable" aspects. I don't agree - not in the case of every semi-sextile anyway, and not in this case. The planets flanking his Virgo cluster sextile each other and, I'd say help to harmonise the whole grouping. Neptune (imagination creativity), from 22 Scorpio, joins the harmony too with a sextile to the Virgo trio, but also forming a square to Venus/Jupiter. If seen in context of his specific style of art I could see that square as representing a challenge to a viewers' eye.
The artist's natal Moon position can't be properly established without a time of birth, but it's very likely to have been in Venus-ruled Taurus, and perhaps in trine aspect to at least one of the Virgo cluster.
On first glance, Oleg Shuplyak’s dreamy paintings appear to be classically-styled landscapes, or portraits of figures from art, culture and fiction. On second glance, the optical illusions are actually both—classic landscape imagery and figures are carefully styled to represent eyes, noses, mouths and hair to their larger counterparts (who happen to be figures like Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Darwin and John Lennon).See the two other paintings mentioned HERE.
Shuplyak must surely have been inspired by an artist from centuries past whose work has always intrigued me, too: Arcimboldo (see archived post HERE)
There's a selection of Oleg Shuplyak's work at, among other websites, Art Galaxie. Thumbnails there will enlarge by clicking on them. Google Image will bring up further examples of his work.
From YouTube:
It's occasionally an effort to get the correct focus (squinting will sometimes help a lot) before the trick becomes fully obvious.
.........Oleg Shuplyak lives and works in a small historical town in Western Ukraine called Berezhany. He basically lives as a reclusive artistic hermit.
Let's have a look at the artist's natal chart, perhaps his talent for eye-trickery will be reflected there.
Born on 23 September 1967. I've set the chart for 12 noon in Ternopil, Moon's position will not be exact and ascendant will remain unknown without a correct time of birth.
His natal Virgo Sun conjunct Uranus and Pluto has to be the first clue! Uranus, planet of the unexpected, and of invention; Pluto's transformative nature and unusual depth of scrutiny - all in meticulous Virgo - what could better reflect this artist's special talents? The Virgo cluster is flanked by a semi-sextile to Venus (planet of the arts) and Jupiter in Leo on one side and to Mercury in Libra on the other. Astrologers sometimes write that semi-sextiles are "uncomfortable" aspects. I don't agree - not in the case of every semi-sextile anyway, and not in this case. The planets flanking his Virgo cluster sextile each other and, I'd say help to harmonise the whole grouping. Neptune (imagination creativity), from 22 Scorpio, joins the harmony too with a sextile to the Virgo trio, but also forming a square to Venus/Jupiter. If seen in context of his specific style of art I could see that square as representing a challenge to a viewers' eye.
The artist's natal Moon position can't be properly established without a time of birth, but it's very likely to have been in Venus-ruled Taurus, and perhaps in trine aspect to at least one of the Virgo cluster.
