Things I Took Away from the da Vinci Exhibit (4 of 4)

-
Things I Took Away (4 of 4)

 Wall mural of The Last Supper- Facsimiles of Leonardo da Vinci's 
paintings were displayed with interactive elements.

I'll share a couple of things that I gleaned from the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.

First, like all of us, Leonardo was shaped by his personal history and circumstances. He was the son of an unmarried peasant woman and this determined his station in life, affording him no prospects for a formal education. He did receive informal education on a few subjects, but he was essentially self-taught. His curiosity fueled his search for knowledge.

While in certain respects this may be viewed as a liability, it seems to me that, to Leonardo it was an advantage. He was not trained to think about limitations; he was like a sponge, taking in the world around him. His observations gave him the fundamentals and no one was whispering in his ear that something couldn't be done, simply because it hadn't been done before.

It reminds me of the "Test the Impossible" MAC television commercial:

"You have no idea what you're doing. This is great.
People who know what they're doing, know the rules and they know what is possible and what is impossible... you do not.
The rules on what is possible and impossible in the arts were made by people who had not tested the bounds of the possible by going beyond them. And you can."
(see this link to view the ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVwwkAJposE )

Second, Leonardo apparently did have contact with his father who was a legal notary charged with recording facts and drafting documents for civil law. It was suggested that exposure to this attention to detail contributed to his lifelong habit of filling pages with notes and sketches.

What is important to me about this observation is that he did pour out whatever came to mind, without a judgement or evaluation on the value of the idea. Perhaps he would pursue and develop a concept. Perhaps he would leave an idea for an artisan to build hundreds of years in the future. It was just really important to him that the idea was recorded. 

How lucky scholars are to have documentation of the thought process of this genius, but one lesson we can learn from Leonardo is that the creative process is an evolution which involves unselfconscious experimentation. Leonardo demonstrated that it is the open thought that leads to ever fresh and inspired creativity. I would venture to say that his habit of getting it all down on paper was an act of emptying consciousness to make room for new ideas. 

Leonardo da Vinci clearly reveled in the joys of the creative process which opened new horizons to him. He saw things far beyond what his humble history would have suggested was possible for him. He never limited himself,... and maybe that was his true genius.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum 
overlooking the mountains of SoCal


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

The Huntington- Galleries (3 of 3)

-
Image
If you're not into gardens, or there's just so much sun you can tolerate, there are plenty of indoor galleries to visit at our destination spot. After all we're talking about The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. ( https://huntington.org/ ) The gallery exhibits cover a wide range of art movements, styles, and periods. (In fact this would be a great place to study millinery designs for women's hats. LOL)  This vast collection is not exclusively one of painting.  Many art forms and disciplines are represented. And it's really interesting to have divergent styles to compare and contrast in one visit. We happily stumbled on the American Art Galleries. Walking into this room felt like coming home, with it's nod to American quilts and textiles.   This yarn sewn rug attributed to Hannah Rosina Maynard Phillips stood out to me. Loved the rich colors and the intricate floral design.  Contrast Hannah's piece with this one by artist Cai Guo-Qiang a
Read more
-
Ability to be Creative Ability , ( noun )- aptitude, intelligence, innate qualities, powers, potency, talent, capability, competence, proficiency, knowledge, technique, craft, skill, dexterity, artistry, facility, mastery, experience,understanding, faculty This is a partial listing of the synonyms for the word "ability" in Webster's New World Thesaurus . It seems to me that these words can be divided into two categories. The first category would be nouns which people generally think of as qualities that come naturally to the individual-  "innate qualities" . I propose that everyone has intelligence, capability, dexterity, even artistry, though some might say people possess them in varying degrees, and in different combinations. But isn't that called "individuality"? Now consider the second group of words. These are nouns that can be acquired: knowledge, experience, technique, skills, mastery . These are things you have with practice !
Read more

The Huntington- Textures & Colors (2 of 3)

-
Image
  There is so much to visually take in when you're surrounded by the natural beauty at The Huntington! Whether you soak in the vibrant colors and incredible textures of the many floral species, . . .  Or you pull back to absorb the magnificent collective textures created in the various themed gardens like the bamboo forest: or the cactus garden: There are also subtle color palettes created in garden displays that include a variety of plants: And then there are the man made textures that are thoughtfully scattered throughout the gardens: Plenty of inspiration for, say, quilt textures, and color choices; even shapes and design elements to borrow for future projects.
Read more