Möbius

I've always been fascinated by languages that use symbols. No, I've never studied or learned them, but they do intrigue me. The idea of an image that conveys a word, an emotion ... this form of communication clicks with me. As a visual learner, someone who needs to see something to understand it, communicating with symbols makes sense to me.

My father introduced me to symbols as meaning when I was a child. I'm not sure if that was his intention, but he is the one who began my interest in symbols. Dad used to "do the Möbius" with me and my sister when we were young. The Möbius, which many people mistakenly assume is the infinity sign, is essentially a one-sided object; a 2 dimensional sheet with only one surface that exists in a 3-dimensional world. That's breaking all the rules if you ask me.

When you create a Möbius using a strip of paper, you can trace a line across the entire strip and land back at the starting point without ever picking up your pen. If you cut a Möbius strip in half, you will have one larger Möbius. Cut it in half again, two interlocked Möbius strips appear. There is a whole mathematical theory that goes along with the Möbius. If the Möbius was free-floating, one could essentially walk on it in a never-ending loop. Once you're on it, there is no beginning and no ending.

One of my favorite artists, M.C. Escher, studied the Möbius, making several variations of it. He is well known for his  woodcuts, Möbius Strip I and Möbius Strip II. Take away the ants, and Möbius Strip II is my favorite. I love the precise grid-like design of the Möbius, and the image itself reminds me of childhood. I love things that carry emotional attachments.