Cluster Puzzles

Introduction

First, what exactly is a 'cluster puzzle' and its relation to Escher-like tessellation? From this bare description alone, the premise is not at all obvious. Simply stated, these pieces can be described, in jigsaw terminology (of which genre these are generally to be found), of 'every piece a picture' that is, each piece is of a (ideally) whole real-life figure, such as an animal, or object. Ideally, these are of many different individual pieces so that a jigsaw-like appearance is obvious. Contrast that with a 'normal' jigsaw, where the piece is only a very small part of the picture. However, this can also describe a 'normal' tessellation. The difference here is that the tiles do not repeat in any way.

The term 'Cluster Puzzle' (of which I now propose to serve as the defining description of the genre; it not previously having had an 'official' title) is taken from the work of Alex Palmer, of the US, with his Unlikely Story above as the banner. Palmer can be considered as if not the founding father of the concept, than the person who brought the genre to commercial prominence, in the 1960s, with the insinuation of the pieces 'clustering', hence 'cluster puzzles'. However, Palmer was not the first person to have conceived the idea (as I discuss in succeeding pages, with 'forerunners' (although as I learnt from his son, Kelvin, tessellation per se was not the guiding principle here) in which he produced a series of seven such puzzles, in contrast to his predecessors, which were very much of a one-off (or very near) nature. Likely, indeed almost certainly, the earlier references are all likely independently of each other. However, Palmer's work, in contrast to the other, earlier references, can be considered as of a more thoughtful, considered nature. Furthermore, although again he was not the first to produce these commercially, his commercial efforts were of a different league from previous efforts. First by himself, then with the help of the family, and then later more seriously with the Cadaco toy and game company of Chicago, these went into serious commercial production selling about 750,000 units before the company discontinued the line. Of the relatively high number of puzzles produced (seven), their inherent quality, and the sheer volume of sales, I consider that Palmer should have the honour of the title of their type.

Researching the genre is difficult, as there is no official description of the genre which makes research most difficult. Of the 'Palmer model', there are both forerunners to the genre and earlier instances. Indeed, there are as many as nineteen earlier instances by artists that equate in style to his work. However, detailing the forerunners is not always a straightforward task, in that the format and tessellation principle is loosened somewhat, with gaps and overlaps, to greater or lesser degrees, in that what the artist is intending is vague and unclear. 

Created 25 June 2024. Last Updated 25 June 2024