On 10/24/10, Dan Asimov <dasimov@earthlink.net> wrote:
[Most of this was written before several posts that explain much of what I've described below, but for clarity I'm leaving this unedited.]
Let C be a simple closed curve in R^3 - {p,q,r}, where #{p,q,r} = 3.
Should read " R^2 - {p,q,r} "?
... In the case of the simple closed curve of the painting, it's fun to let the exterior "ooze into" the curve, by shading that in. What remains is a very skinny and folded snake with one eye at each end (namely, the two punctures in its interior). Once this becomes clear, it's easy to imagine how a sequence of Dehn twists might result in unfolding the snake. The inverse of the corresponding word is, I'm guessing, what was painted on the wall. (But the resolution of the photo is too low for me to be able to read that word.)
a b c' b' a' b' a b c b' a' b c' b' a' b' a b c' b' a' b a b c b' --- the last "a" being a trifle dubious. WFL