Author and Aikidoest George Leonard on Curiosita'
I finished my book club / class on "How to Think Like Leonardo" by Michael J. Gelb yesterday.
It's a good book. Not a how-to, step by step guide to become like Leonardo Da Vinci but some good advice about methods you might use to expand your intelectual and creative horizons a bit. It's the sort of book you could take time (and would need to) in order to practice the exercises. We got the book and the workbook for the class. They are both useful and they sort of thing you world sketch in, doodle, write notes, underline...in other words a book you can use.
Besides the quote above, which I really like, here's a few other tidbits -
Dimostrazione is a Leonardo biggie - it means learning by doing, by making mistakes and making corrections.
Uoma Senza Lettere - this is a term Leonardo like to be known by. It means "man without letters". Leonardo was happy to be a self-taught learner and didn't assume the PHD, BS, MS, JD, had much meaning in and of themselves.
Leonardo was a discepelo della experienza or a disciple of experience.
For those of us who like things in groups of seven, the seven Da Vincian Principles, according to Michael J. Gelb, are -
"Curiosita - An insatibly curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning.
Dimostrazione - A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
Sensazione - The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.
Sfumato - (literally "going up in smoke") - A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
Arte/Scienza - The development of the balance between science and art, logic, and imagination. "Whole-brain" thinking.
Corporalita - The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise.
Connessione - A recognition and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking."
I have to make a little editorial comment about the how to think like Leonardo that people have asked me about or I've heard people talk about in the class.
The question/comment centers on hmmmm....
What is art? or maybe How could anyone (as untalented as you/me) paint like Leonardo?
My answers in order would be (a) whatever moves you and (b) why would anyone want to?
Not to put Leonardo down, he could paint a heck of a detailed horse or human. Today we would use a camera to get that realistic look. My point is that art/painting is as you know - HUGE. It's diverse it's amazing - Leonardo was a realist, I tend to like impressionists, folk artists, children's art, some abstract or other modern art - or basically like anyone else - I like what I like. I'm not sure I could tell you why - or for that matter why I'd want to or why you would care. Suffice it to say art moves us somehow - it might be beauty or upsetting or ?
I walked throught the National Museum in London once and just stopped and looked at the paintings that appealed to me. I found some of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings to be very appealing, but Vincent's sunflowers aren't a detailed "accurate" representation of a sunflower that Leonardo might have painted. That doesn't mean one is a better artist. Just different.
Finally when it comes to composition, theme, color, light..techniques. I'm not that interested either in learning or studying those topics. If you want to take a class in mechanical drawing those are available and certainly the ability to provide perspective and composition in a sketch or drawing can be a requirement (depends on what you are trying to do).
Wassily Kandinsky a Russian born abstract impressionist is only one example of an artist who's style is far removed from Leonardo's realism - but for some, quite appealing. Art scholars say that Kandinsky combines color/sound/spirituality in painting...all I know is I like the colors and form. Here are a couple of examples of Kandinsky's work -
I was playing with this idea back in September when I wrote my little Blog essay - Paint or Draw like Anybody.
May you occasionally find artistry, grace, and beauty, in whatever it is you do.
