At 10:33 AM 12/2/96 EST, you wrote:
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>Sender:       Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
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>Subject:      Re[2]: Leonardo Exhibit - and CDROM
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>
>   As far as I could tell, the Corbis CD ROM that was on sale at AMNH was
>   *not* the exhibition software, but rather a more general overview of
>   Leonardo's work.  I saw the retail one on display and did not play
>   with it, but it was based upon a central rotunda with radiating rooms
>   each of which dealt with an aspect of Leonardo's work.
>
>   I can't imagine that there would be a huge and broad marked for the
>   Codex Leicester software, and it also seemed so content-y and so
>   incredibly zippy that it didn't feel like any CD-ROM software I've
>   ever used.  So, I suspect that it was custom for the exhibition, but I
>   would be glad to be proven wrong!
>
>   Eric Siegel
>   [log in to unmask]
>

I purchased the Leonardo CD-ROM at the Codex Leicester exhibit, and can
report that the display software used in the exhibit is entirely contained
on the cd-rom and, further, integrated into a broad treatment of Leonardo
and his place in the Renaissance.  The circular-rotunda exhibit space about
which Eric speaks contains a treatment of Leonardo's output, ms. pntgs.
drngs. etc.  But, in addition, there are several narrated "tours" based on
subject matter and several "exhibits" in which some of Leonardo's
"experiments" are recreated and shown as animated demonstrations of
laboratory simulations.

The general level of presentation I'd guess is 12th grade or 1st year
college, but the commentary is salient and fitting -- not the sort of pap
that typically accompanies products made for popular consumption.  The
interface takes a while to get used to, but soon is entirely comprehensible.

In all, this is a fine CD, limited in scope, perhaps, and not the
encyclopedic presentation of Leonardo one might have hoped to find, but
thoroughly enjoyable to use nonetheless.  As in the exhibit software Eric
described, in the CD-ROM there is a viewer through which one can obtain a
transliterated or translated rendition of the ms.  I believe there was an
earlier version of the CD in which this viewer took the form of a
magnifying glass, but this software presents a full screen-width display.
Unfortunately the width of the ms. is sometimes wider than the aperture in
the viewer so some horizontal scrolling may be necessary.

My only significant objection to the Codex Leicester CD-ROM is that it is a
closed hermetic affair. There is no bibliography, no reference to Leonardo
Scholarship, no notes, no list of illustrations, and, in general, no path
presented by which students can use this disk to expand their horizons.
One complaint about its structure:  The reader is presented with a general
display in which is splayed out each sheet as exhibited -- separated from
all other sheets. Each sheet is numbered with sheet number and page
designations (e.g. folio 1 r).  In such an arrangement it is impossible to
rearrange the sheets so that they fall in the order in which the ms was
bound (acknowledging that that order is not secure).  In addition, in the
demonstrations and exhibits, when a page is cited, it is impossible to jump
to that page in the Codex Leicester.

One of the most interesting features is the dynamic indexing of each sheet
against a short topic list.  Highlight a topic such as "Dynamics of Water,"
"Rivers and Seas," "Body of the Earth," "Astronomy," "Atmosphere," or
"Experiments" and those portions of the ms. that correspond are highlighted
as well.  This technique can be used when all the sheets of the ms. are
shown together, or when any single one of them is selected.

In all, I believe that Eric's initial assessment is accurate: here is an
example of an exhibit in which the virtual presentation is more informative
and more gratifying than the "real thing."  I was intrigued to see the
introduction emphasize the importance of private patrons in Renaissance
Art.  The message will not be lost to those who participate in enjoying the
rebirth of this manuscript in its new guise as virtual object.

The CD-Menu uses the metaphor of the tree for arrangement and structure,
with introductory elements at its base followed by demonstrations and
exhibits.  Near the top are two Galleries, Leonardo, displayed in the
rotunda mentioned above, and the Codex Leicester.  It is clear, however,
that the focus of the CD is the Codex Leicester, yet the CD jacket does not
mention the ms.  Instead the CD is named just "Leonardo da Vinci," with a
subtitle: "Corbis Reveals the Mysterious Writings of the Original
Renaissance Man."  But who does the revealing?  The top billing is shared
by scholar Martin Kemp, and Corbis Chairman Bill Gates.  Modern Medici.

P.S. Don't miss the credits.  You'll find an amusing selection of Monalisiana.





===========================
Robert A. Baron
Museum Computer Consultant
P.O. Box 93
Larchmont, NY 10538 (USA)
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