In Bridge 4 of Studio/Seminars we are creating works as if we are the artist we chose.
I chose to write as Leonardo Da Vinci, who’s a genius and Renaissance’s man.
Journal 1
There are too many knowledges that could be studied in this world. I read, write, draw, try to record them, but there’s enormous more. Observing the world is a good way to spend time; I just have so little of them. All these knowledges shall fill me body and life; thus, they won’t be void when I get old, or died.
I need more time.
MORE TIME.
Maybe I don’t need to sleep that much. A Nap is enough for me to keep working.
If I take a nap every three hours, fifteen minutes a nap, I will sleep…No, too irregular. Divide a day to six four hours, take 15 minutes out of each of them. One and a half hours. I gain SIX HOURS of work time every day. A quarter of a day every day! Now I can work on my flying project. If I live till seventy years old, I gain 12 years. They will be well-spend.
Journal 2
People are afraid of the unknown. Bigger represent more powerful–in strength–judged by most people. The mechanism should be huge. When it moves across the field everyone will be shocked and freeze under its shadow, like they fear the dark clouds that will strike their body by lightning in any moment. Like Typhon, the monstrous giant in the mythology who brings fear.
Conical cover is wood, but it will be reinforced by steel plate; much thicker than turtle shells. All the woods incline towards top of the center where the circle will cover by a flattened cone. The gap between the cover and the cone on the top shall give the commander inside a view of all directions. As the poles are turned, the gears will drive the four wheels and the cart will move forward. Soldiers will be about to shoot from the window that close to the bottom of the cover.
Journal 3
An apprentice asked how to become me. He never can.
Everyone has a different soul, and, a different life. I filled myself with the knowledge. He might be able to read everything I read and practice but will end up with distant understandings and a different set of knowledge. Hope then he will understand.
The disappointment in his face also disappointed me. He can be a better man. There is no need to be anyone else. More importantly, young man should not lose his humbleness. It like the bird lost the feathers on its wings. He expects someone’s knowledge, experience and ability is limited and therefore copiable. But us humans are just grains of dust in this universe. Only thing a man can do is be humble and fill one’s self with more knowledge that won’t make anyone bigger but less likely to be lost in vest universe.
Journal 4-1
This is not about finishing a drawing. I want it to be done, too. But it is not yet meant to be done. I still cannot figure out the right posture of the arm. It seems different from the real person. It seems that humans also have those pieces on the bones like animals do, but they are all covered by skin. When we lift our arm, something mush moved to provide powers for the “lift”. Do those things under the skin contribute to these actions?
What do they look like?
What are they composed of? There should be different structures.
Those different structures have distinct functions.
For a single movement:
Bones needs to be connected at the very first.
Then a piece can pull/push the bone to move.
Maybe another piece to pull/push the bone on the other side as we lift and drop the arm.
It sounds like mechanism., the pulley…so when one side rise, other side will fall?
If I can see it, I will understand.
It is not legal to do the dissection…those in Rome do not care about the truth or reasons. They do not allow others to find these, either.
Journal 4-2
met an interesting person. We made a little deal.
All these mysteries between the bone and skin will be revealed. People are not allowed to touch them, but I desire to know and observe very closely to see all the details in the human body. Hope no one will find these, especially the church.
A big step towards a new set of knowledge–a new world of intelligence–about humans. The experiments may show me all the reasoning.
Journal 5
Fear drives living lives away from danger. Sheep learned from instincts and experiences to fear then run when the wolves come. Humans fear of cold, then we made clothes and shelter. Fear of dark, study how to start and keep the fire. Fear of loneliness, build relationship called lovers; making friends for not being lonely at the time, having children for not being lonely in the future.
One of the biggest fears of humans is death. Who fear it the most live longer; the fear keep them awake and calm from desires: money, power, lust.
Death is not necessary for the argument between peasants nor scholars, but indeed will happen when there is an argument between politicians. Ones with powers easily give, change, or take lives.
Journal 6
There’s no need to be afraid of the future or death. It is part of nature, nature cannot be rejected or inverted. Death exists for a reason. Life of any living beings cannot be too long that they will generate to take over all the lands and resources. Therefore, there will be no more space for any other beings. I don’t like they call it “fate”, everything should have an explanation, happen for a reason by decisions. Death is the only exception if they called “fate” is something must happen regardless what you have done or will do.
Living being makes decisions based on their wisdom. Not only humans but animals and plants make their decisions to change their lives. Seasoning birds migrate to the south every fall to avoid the harsh winter. Humans migrate, too. They decided whether they will stay or move and decide where they will move to. The things happen after they move to the new place come from their decision of moving. Birds never complain if they cannot find enough food or being killed in the south. They move to the next place for better; but human rather to find evidence of who contribute to the decision is responsible for what is happening, and that person is always not themselves.
Animals live with a much simple manner of focusing pleasuring themselves and always focusing on finding solutions when they encounter challenges without useless words speaking for who is guilty. Another good quality of animals: they do not interference life of the others. Even though some species are living in collective groups, they only do what they learned are responsible to. They have rules from nature, ruling the group to function for their living and all living beings have their own sets of “rules”, or natural instincts, to follow. When keeping their lives, they interact with another species and that one influence the next one. At the end, all living things are interacting with one another, creating the nature we perceive and observe today. It’s never someone that humans believe decides everything; things themselves progress according to a collective manner that evolved by experiences and reasons.
Humans who acquire more knowledge will become humbler because the more they know the bigger world they see; then they realize how much more is out there to be discovered.
Bibliography
Clark, Kenneth, and Carlo Pedretti. The Drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle. London: Phaidon, 1968.
Faletto, Joanie. “Leonardo Da Vinci and Nikola Tesla Allegedly Followed the Uberman Sleep Cycle.” Curiosity, October 16, 2017. https://curiosity.com/topics/leonardo-da-vinci-and-nikola-tesla-allegedly-followed-the-uberman-sleep-cycle-curiosity/.
Heydenreich, Ludwig H. Leonardo Da Vinci. Plates. New York: Macmillan, 1954.
Landrus, Matthew Hayden, and Matthew Hayden Landrus. Leonardo Da Vinci: the Genius, His Work and the Renaissance. London: Andre Deutsch, 2009.
Leonardo Da Vinci, 1452- 1519. Armonk, NY: International Business Machines Corp., n.d.
Perloff, Joseph K. “Human Dissection and the Science and Art of Leonardo Da Vinci.” The American Journal of Cardiology 111, no. 5 (Mar 01, 2013): 775. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.newschool.edu/10.1016/j.amjcard.2012.12.031. https://login.libproxy.newschool.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.newschool.edu/docview/1400213311?accountid=12261.
Reti, Ladislao, and Emil M. Buhrer. The Unknown Leonardo. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Book, 1974.
“The Tank.” Leonardo Da Vinci’s Inventions. Accessed December 13, 2019. http://www.leonardodavincisinventions.com/war-machines/leonardo-da-vincis-tank/.
Wells, Thereza, and Irma A. Richter. Leonardo Da Vinci: Notebooks. Oxford. Oxford University Press, 2008.
X, Jayson. “What Was Leonardo da Vinci’s Religion?”. Accessed December 13, 2019. http://www.deism.com/davinci.htm.
Notes
Leonardo Da Vinci is a genius. Like many geniuses, he has too much thoughts all the time that it is hard for him to focus on one thing.
He’s humble to knowledges. For his whole life he tried to achieve the goal of finding reasons for everything he learned and experienced and apply them to his inventions for proving his finding.
He believed in reasoning rather than God.
Dissection was illegal in that era. He got corpses from grief rubbers which is also illegal, but the law was not enforced. Leonardo dissected about 30 bodies of all gender and age during his lifetime. At the time the body will decompose immediately after the person died as there wasn’t adequate techniques for keeping bodies. Thus, dissections were mostly done in terrible environment and condition for human (considering the smell) with risk of being infected by all kinds of virus and bacteria.
He worked for these powerful/wealthy nobles as they respect his knowledges; more importantly, they can support him for inventions. i.e., only these powerful figures have enough resources to build things like Giant Crossbow and The Tank.
He moved from Florence to Milan in 1482. Although it is partially because Medici made a deal with Sfroza in Milan, I believe it have deal with that Florence prefer artist rather than engineer as it was the center of wealth and art (this not interest in building made their lose to Frence easily after the fall of Medici). In contrast, Milan was the center of politics and military; they appreciate Leonardo’s ability in invention more.
