Termespheres part of ArtStroll activities

Dick Termes will hold a special Make It and Take It activity during the Second Friday ArtStroll in downtown Thermopolis.

Internationally known, Termes is recognized as one of the most original and innovative visual artists living today. Through a self-devised geometric system known as Six-Point Perspective (copyright), Termes is able to transfer a complete environment onto a spherical canvas. With little more than math, science, and his own creativity, Termes can literally capture worlds.

Imagine that you are standing inside a transparent ball, suspended 50 feet above the Grand Canyon floor. You are higher than some canyon walls but lower than others. You have paints and a brush. You begin to paint what you see on the inside surface of the ball. First, you paint the north face, then the east, south, and west. Finally, you paint everything visible above and below.

Observing from outside the sphere, you can see that you have captured the entire three-dimensional landscape. In fact, you’ve discovered the structure of your visual experience—a Termesphere.

Termespheres—as his works have come to be known—can be seen in galleries and museums around the world. Since 1968, Termes has created more than 400 major spherical surfaces. Termespheres hang in space and rotate on a central axis with the assistance of electric motors.

They push two-point perspective, to Six-Point Perspective, creating three-dimensional spherical worlds. Termespheres are complete representations of highly structured environments.

One finds that the Termesphere from the inside is sometimes not what the Termesphere is from the outside. One of the most interesting parts of the Termesphere is the optical illusion created by the combination of perspective-based art and motion.

By rotating the sphere and focusing on the image as a whole, one will notice the convex surface of the sphere will appear to “flip” to concave and the rotational direction will appear to switch. This effect has become known as the Termes Illusion.

Termes received his Bachelor’s Degree in Education from his hometown Black Hills State University and quickly began a career as an educator. After four years as a high school art and biology teacher, Termes continued his education at the University of Wyoming, where he received a Master’s Degree in Art and began to explore perspective art. Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles recognized his talent and offered him a full scholarship to complete his MFA.

In 1971, Termes returned to his native South Dakota, and to Black Hills State University as an Associate Professor of Art.

Eventually, he chose to nurture his own potential and pursue his art on a full-time basis. In 1992, he opened the Termesphere Gallery just outside of Spearfish that has been visited by thousands of admirers and art enthusiasts from around the globe.

Termes has presented unique art and math seminars across the country and all over the world. His art is featured in dozens of publications illustrating concepts in art, math, psychology, optical illusions, and even economics.

Termes was honored to display his work at the University of Rome alongside the work of one of his major influences, M.C. Escher. Termes received the South Dakota Governor’s Award in the Arts, is an inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, and September 9th has been decreed Dick Termes Day in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Bring your whole family and make a Termesphere. The workshop begins at 6 p.m. at Hot Springs County Museum. Expect two hours for completion of your own Termesphere.