Maybe The Vision Is Enough

I have been thinking about the exhibit since we made the trip last week to the South Carolina State Museum to see Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion. Some of the machines were so familiar I had to keep reminding myself that it has taken the world five hundred years to catch up with the visions which Leonardo recorded in his notebooks with simple drawings and backwards text.

Walking through this interactive exhibit, it occurred to me that the visions did not stop with daVinci. There was never enough time for him to do the things he dreamed or explored. Since then, others along the way have had visions, too. Over the centuries, they have learned to implement the ideas, modify the designs and make his dreams reality.

And now the creation of these forty workable models from information in daVinci's notebooks has involved great vision from the teams of craftsmen, historians, and financiers. As the exhibit travels from Italy to other continents, hundreds of people from little kids to old folks will be able to touch and explore "Leonardo's Machines." How cool is that?


I'm no Leonardo, but it occurs to me that when a thought, an idea, a vision comes in my head, it's okay if I don't know how to make it happen. Maybe it's not for me to do. Maybe it's a job for someone else. Maybe I should make good notes. For now, maybe the vision is enough.


Note: The Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion exhibit is in the Lipscomb Gallery. Guy Lipscomb is a well-known SC artist who was responsible for raising a good portion of the millions needed for the State Museum. A good painter, a good friend and a visionary.

BushStrokes (c) AAB