LEONARDO DA VINCI’S 500-YEAR-OLD INVENTIONS BROUGHT TO LIFE IN ONE-OF-A-KIND NEW EXHIBIT MAKING ITS NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE AT DISCOVERY TIMES SQUARE EXPOSITION
“LEONARDO DA VINCI’S WORKSHOP,” DIRECT FROM MILAN, FEATURES LIFE-SIZE MODEL REPLICAS OF HIS FLYING MACHINES, “AUTOMOBILE,” ROBOTS AND WEAPONS OF WAR RECREATED FROM HIS PERSONAL NOTEBOOKS
GIANT DIGITAL IMAGES OF THE LAST SUPPER AND THE MONA LISA PROVIDE NEW INFORMATION ABOUT LEONARDO MASTERPIECES
INTERACTIVE TOUCH SCREENS ALLOW VISITORS TO “BUILD” MACHINES THEMSELVES
Long before Whom You Know, Peachy Deegan attended the DaVinci exhibit at The Met a few years ago, and that was her first major introduction to this talent that brought us the Mona Lisa. However, Da Vinci was far ahead of his time and his talents across many disciplines may not be realized by the general public. Yes, he was a painter. But his ability to think and comprehend innovations quite literally hundreds of years ahead of his lifetime we think does not get enough recognition.
The Italian renaissance is of course the beginning of the Modern age, and Da Vinci's influence is one of the driving forces behind it. His in-depth understanding of detail and proportion, and his ability to teach himself are all incredible. From the aerial screw to the robot soldier, to the kite and mechanical bat, we were amazed. The Ideal City and the Swing Bridge were among Peachy's favorites of the exhibit. You have to see this for yourself...we won't be giving away all of the great secrets!
The exhibition itself is quite well-done from the start. First, you sit through an incredible film about Da Vinci and the ending as you enter the exhibit is quite exciting. Throughout the exhibit, you will see how digital restoration has impacted great works such as the Mona Lisa, and you will have the opportunity to use touch-screens to construct what Da Vinci did engineer, as well as see replicas of the models themselves. Assembling each piece on the touch screen is actually not as easy as you might think~! Whom You Know had some of our most intelligent panelists in to try these and it gave us an even greater appreciation for Da Vinci's works, and they commented:
People may now use the expression “renaissance man” to describe a person with many talents, but it would be hard to find a better example than Leonardo Da Vinci. At the Discovery Times Square Exposition space New Yorkers now have the opportunity to visit “Leonardo Da Vinci’s Worshop.” The visit begins with a brief film introducing you Da Vinci’s life story, and then rather dramatically the screen lifts up and you enter a replica of Da Vinci’s workshop. The exhibit is created by a project called Leonardo3, a group whose goal, as per their website, is to “transform all the machines and ideas found in the manuscripts of Leonardo and other Renaissance engineers into three-dimensional models.”
Throughout the exhibit on display are replicas of some of Da Vinci’s codices, which are manuscripts full of plans, ideas and inventions. There are interactive touch screens that allow you to zoom in and view the plans more closely (although if you are not good at reading mirror image Italian his directions might be lost on you)! Most amazing are the 3D models built from interpretation of the codices, many of which were never actually built in Da Vinci’s time. The models include several flying machines, including the Mechanical Bat and Flying Aerial Screw. Amazingly these would be powered by the work of the arms and legs of the passenger! There are also models of an ideal city, a swing bridge (a very clever bridge that moves to let traffic through the waterway), and a harpsichord-viola that actually is small enough to be worn by the musician to bring the music to street festivals.
DaVinci’s handwriting was very unique, as he was left-handed and wrote from right to left in a mirror image. There are interactive screens as well where you can read his text in both the original and the mirror image (which appears as normal text), and finally you can also read the words in easier to see fonts in both Italian and English translation.
Although this is not primarily an art exhibit, the Leonardo3 group has done some interesting work with the paintings. In the exhibit you can view replicas of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. While hopefully you have a chance to fly overseas to see the originals, the Leonardo3 researchers have attempted to show what the original colors were. The Mona Lisa is on display with a vibrant blue sky and flesh-colored skin. There is also a section displaying some of the sketches that were drawings used as studies for paintings, although if it is original sketches and paintings you are after then you should seek out a museum. The strength of this exhibit is the way it brings to life many ideas and inventions of a man who was clearly way ahead of his time.
Whom You Know highly recommends Leonardo Da Vinci's Workshop!
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Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop, a highly anticipated new exhibit featuring life-size models of Leonardo’s inventions and machines – using authentic materials – and state-of-the-art touch screens enabling visitors to “turn the pages” of Leonardo’s personal notebooks (Codices) is open at Discovery TSX (226 West 44th Street) and will run through March 2010. The exhibition, direct from Milan and making its North American premiere, brings to life dozens of Leonardo’s inventions, visions and concepts, including his gigantic flying machines, “automobile,” robots, weapons of war, and mechanical devices, which foreshadowed modern technology.
Highlights of the unparalleled new exhibit, which celebrates the genius of a man who was hundreds of years ahead of his time, include the Great Kite, which is considered his “definitive” flying machine, as well as the world’s first working prototype of his Self-Propelled Cart, and the first physical models of his Mechanical Bat and Mechanical Lion, among others. All of the models in the exhibit were constructed according to Leonardo’s famed Codices, which contain thousands of pages of notes, drawings and designs, and were recreated using materials and techniques that would have existed in the 15th and 16th centuries. Interestingly, Leonardo’s famous “mirror writing” – he wrote backwards from right to left – can be seen in the digitized versions of these notebooks.
Other featured Leonardo inventions in the exhibit include the first Robot and the famous Aerial Screw, which is often called the precursor to the modern-day helicopter, as well as his Self-Supporting Bridge, Multi-Cannon Gunship, Hydraulic Saw, Wire-Controlled Bird, Double Crane, Swing Bridge, Ships Cannon with Shield and Paddle Boat, among others.
Using touch screens, visitors can translate more than 500 sketches from Leonardo’s Codices into 3-dimensional models.
On-site docents are available to help visitors get the best experience from the touch-screen displays. In addition, a “build your own bridge” area enables kids and their families to engage with the exhibit, and use Leonardo’s design to build their own Self-Supporting Bridge.
Curated by the noted Leonardo experts at Leonardo3 (L3) in Milan and produced by Running Subway Productions, the exhibit also includes displays of Leonardo’s masterpieces pre-and-post restoration. These high-resolution digital images provide new information about these world-famous paintings. For instance, in “The Last Supper,” we can now see a salt shaker on the table that appears to be knocked over by Judas, as well as a church in the distance, long obscured by years of dust and decay.
Other highlights of the exhibit include a recreation of Leonardo’s workshop and a film providing insight into the mind and life of a genius.
“The purpose of this exhibit is to make Leonardo’s most important surviving manuscripts – Manuscript B, the Codex on Flight and the Codex Atlanticus – available to the greater public,” said Mario Taddei, exhibit creator and L3 scientist. “Through the application of the L3 Digital Codex technology, people can not only turn the pages of the manuscripts, but also understand and appreciate their contents, seen as they are in a totally new light, thanks to the models and three-dimensional animations.”
James Sanna, President and Executive Producer of Running Subway Productions, added: “This unique new exhibit combines the genius of Leonard Da Vinci with the most advanced technologies of today to bring to life Leonardo’s inventions like never before. We are proud and excited to bring this exhibit to New York City as the world premiere.”
Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop will run for a limited engagement from November 20, 2009 through March 2010 at the Discovery Times Square Exposition (226 West 44th Street).
Discovery TSX is open seven days a week from 10 am – 10 pm. Last admission is one hour prior to closing. For individual tickets, call 866.9TSXNYC (866.987.9692) or visit www.discoveryTSX.com. Tickets are available for $17.50 (child 4-12), $19.50 (adult) and $18.50 (senior = 65), children under 4 are free. Groups of 15 or more save up to 20 percent on tickets with advanced reservations.
About Leonardo 3
An innovative research center and media company dedicated to the work of Leonardo da Vinci. L3 encompasses a center and workshop for research and study; exhibition and museum production; editorial, television and multimedia production; and a publishing company whose mission is to study, interpret and make cultural heritage available to the public through the use of avant-garde methods and technology.
About Running Subway Productions
Running Subway Productions is a New York-based entertainment production company that conceptualizes, produces, markets and manages iconic productions and exhibits. Since inception just five years ago, Running Subway has staged a multitude of successful shows and exhibits combining traditional entertainment with innovative technology and groundbreaking ideas to provide audiences with unique and unforgettable experiences.
