Exploring the Work of Leonardo Da Vinci within the Context of Contemporary Philosophical Thought and Art

Author:	Parr, Adrian
Year:	2003
Pages:	240
ISBN:	0-7734-6564-2 978-0-7734-6564-0
Price:	$179.95

This study explores the work of Leonardo da Vinci with the aim of developing a concept of creative production, It argues that the conditions of a truly creative practice require an imaginative re-working of the real so that new and unforeseen realities can emerge. Studying Leonardo’s notebooks and sketches, where a cross-pollination of theory and practice abounds, it shows that creativity is critical power that operates in between the real and ideal, confounding the clear-cut distinction between them.

Reviews

“…stages an extraordinary and improbably creative encounter between the work of the Renaissance artist and the concepts of the 20th century philosopher. Adrian Parr provides detailed and evocative accounts of da Vinci’s paintings and drawings, interleaved with conceptual analyses derived from Deleuze’s metaphysics of repetition and difference. In the process, she shows how much of Deleuze’s thought turns around the concept and the process of creation, while making skilful use of Deleuzian concepts to identify the different levels of creativity in da Vinci’s work…. The result is a veritable ‘becoming da Vincian’ of the philosopher and a ‘becoming Deleuzian’ of the artist….This is a truly original and inspiring study which will be of interest to students in philosophy and cultural studies as well as art history.” – Professor Paul Patton, Head, School of Philosophy, The University of New South Wales, Australia

Table of Contents:
Preface; Introduction
1. Critical Edges
2. Unthought
3. Nature’s Laws
4. Sensibility and Thought
5. The Demise of Verisimilitude
6. The Power of Difference
7. Creative Encounters, Political Experiences and Transformational Zones
Archives; Bibliography; Index