Da Vinci’s Dodecahedron

Nevermind tool making – if any trait distinguishes humans and animals, it’s our ability to doodle. Even our Presidents dabbled in it: Reagan sketched cowboys on memos and Nixon enigmatically called himself a “square doodler.” But no one in the history of doodling matches Leonardo Da Vinci. This autumn, a...

By Penn Bullock

November 8, 2007

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Nevermind tool making – if any trait distinguishes humans and animals, it’s our ability to doodle. Even our Presidents dabbled in it: Reagan sketched cowboys on memos and Nixon enigmatically called himself a “square doodler.” But no one in the history of doodling matches Leonardo Da Vinci. This autumn, a notebook of his doodles, the Codex Forster I, stops at the Norton Museum of Art (1451 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach), as part of an exhibition from London’s Virginia and Albert Museum.

The exhibition’s called “Medieval & Renaissance Treasures from the V & A”: there’s stained glass, ivory, metallurgy, a manuscript, and other knick-knacks dating from the Roman Empire to 1600. Plus, today, Florida State University’s vocal ensemble, Cantores Musicæ Antiquæ, graces the gallery with a peculiar style of Spanish music that emerged from contact with the noises of the New World. Still, nothing outshines Da Vinci: his drawing of a Dodecahedron – a 12-sided, 3-D shape – is doodling’s equivalent of the Pyramids. The Cantores concert begins at 3 p.m. Tickets cost $12 or less. Call 561-832-5196 or visit www.norton.org.
Nov. 11-Jan. 8, 2007

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