Droste effect
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The Droste effect is a Dutch term for a specific kind of recursive picture[1], one that in heraldry is termed mise en abyme. An image exhibiting the Droste effect depicts a smaller version of itself in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This smaller version then depicts an even smaller version of itself in the same place, and so on. Only in theory could this go on forever; practically, it continues only as long as the resolution of the picture allows, which is relatively short, since each iteration exponentially reduces the picture's size. It is a visual example of a strange loop, a self-referential system.
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[edit] Origin
The effect is named after a particular image that appeared, with variations, on the tins and boxes of Droste cocoa powder, one of the main Dutch brands. It displays a nurse carrying a serving tray with a cup of hot chocolate and a box of the same brand.[2]
The recursive effect first appeared in 1904, and was maintained for decades, becoming a household notion. Reportedly, poet and columnist Nico Scheepmaker introduced wider usage of the term in the late 1970s.[3]
[edit] Means of creating the effect
An example of the Droste effect can be easily created by placing two mirrors facing each other. Another method would be to film one's own television with a video camera, while displaying the output of the video camera on the same television.
[edit] Other examples
The American mock pundit Stephen Colbert has a portrait of himself on the mantle of his set's fireplace which makes use of the Droste effect. A new one is painted each season, with one more level of recursion added.
The Stefaneschi Triptych, an altarpiece from 1320 by Giotto di Bondone, shows cardinal Stefaneschi in one of its panels, offering the triptych itself to St. Peter[4].
Other recursive logos:
- Pink Floyd's Ummagumma album cover
- Land O'Lakes Tub
- The Laughing Cow (La vache qui rit)
- Knights of the Lambda Calculus
- Old bags of Tayto crisps [5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Nänny. Max and Fischer, Olga, The Motivated Sign: Iconicity in Language and Literature pp.37, John Benjamins Publishing Company, (2001) ISBN 9-027-22574-5
- ^ Törnqvist, Egil. Ibsen: A Doll's House, pp.105, Cambridge University Press (1995) ISBN 0-521-47866-9
- ^ Droste, altijd welkom
- ^ Giotto di Bondone and assistants: Stefaneschi triptych
- ^ http://farm1.static.flickr.com/71/183826978_27b5010c8e.jpg?v=0
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Droste effect |
- Escher and the Droste effect
- The Math Behind the Droste Effect (article by Jos Leys summarizing the results of the Leiden study and article)
- A moving picture with the Droste effect
