Cupertino DailyDa Vinci on Display at the Tech in San Jose
By Theresa Condon
A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News declared, “The collection of genius under one roof probably set a record Saturday at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, if only a genius-o-meter had been on hand to measure it”. Intrigued, a friend and I visited the Leonardo da Vinci: 500 Years Into The Future Exhibit last weekend, eager to see the engineering and artistic marvels attributed to the quintessential ‘Renaissance Man’. The little I knew about Signore da Vinci are bits and pieces recalled from elementary school history books and, unfortunately, I did not know much more when I left.
Leonardo is often considered the lone genius of the Renaissance, but he was not the only prodigy at work in the 15th century. The Tech exhibit showcased several other Renaissance geniuses, such as Filippo Brunelleschi, who also made significant contributions to the fields of science and art.
Although the Exhibit was impressive, I was not drawn into the material the way I expected. Da Vinci has been renowned for centuries as an inventor and the Exhibit consisted mainly of large wooden models of inventions he designed throughout his lifetime. The models did not work however, and it was mostly up to the visitor to locate the cogs, wheels, handles and pulleys and imagine how the machine must have worked. Minimal detail was given on placards and only a few exhibits included smaller scale metal models that visitors could set in motion by hand. After 20 or 30 stationary wooden models, everything began to look the same and I was relieved when we moved on to the anatomy and art portions of the Exhibit.
Here, da Vinci’s penchant for symbolism and playing with perspective in his paintings became clear. Two exhibits I found especially interesting were the massive molds he created to build the gigantic Sforza Horse and the front legs and chest of the horse itself protruding out of the wall. Visitors also have the opportunity of heading downstairs after the Exhibit and viewing two paintings done by students of da Vinci.
I thought the general admission cost of $25 was too costly for what the exhibit offers. My friend and I did spend a good hour and a half exploring the world of da Vinci but I cannot say I came out enriched by the experience.
The Leonardo Exhibit will be on display at the Tech until January 4, 2009. For more information visit the Tech website: www.thetech.org.
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