Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop Comes to Times Square
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| Great Kite. © Leonardo3. |
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| Mechanical Bat. © Leonardo3. |
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| Mechanical Lion. © Leonardo3. |
By STAN PARCHIN
November 2, 2009
Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop, an exhibition of life-size interactive models of the Italian Renaissance genius' inventions, makes its American debut at New York's Discovery Times Square Exposition center from November 20, 2009 through March 2010. The installation features state-of-the-art touch screens that allow the visitor to view the artist's fragile and rarely seen codices (notebooks). The monitors also demonstrate more than 500 of the scientist's creations and ideas.
Produced by Milan's Leonardo3 think tank, the exhibition explores Leonardo's profound visions of airplanes, automobiles and robots as well as his technological innovations in weaponry and mechanics. On display are scale reproductions of the polymath's Great Kite (flying machine), Self-propelling Cart, Mechanical Bat, Mechanical Lion and others, each constructed using materials and techniques common in 15th- and 16th-century Italy.
Highlights of the show include: a film introducing Leonardo's life, career and thought; illustrations of the master's paintings before and after virtual restoration; and an imaginative replica of Leonardo's workshop.
There are no authentic works by Leonardo da Vinci in this exhibition.
Sources
Galluzzi, Paolo. Mechanical Marvels: Invention in the Age of Leonardo (exh. cat.). Florence: Instituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, 1997.
Kemp, Martin. Leonardo da Vinci: Experience, Experiment and Design (exh. cat.). London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2006.
Lisa, Massimiliano, Mario Taddei and Edoardo Zanon. Da Vinci's Workshop in the Ideal City: Codices, Machines and Drawings (exh. cat.). Milan: Leonardo3 srl, 2009.