Learning to Fly banner.

'Learning To Fly' is a conceptual art study of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Vitruvian Man' sketch. It has been conceived by P.F. Joseph 'Joe' Campbell and developed with the assistance of 'We Collective'.

This webpage is a record of the development of the project and, as such, it will be updated periodically.
Below is the 2nd sketch in the series, updated 21/06/2023. ARCHIVE.



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The Concept.


Vitruvian logo

'Vitruvian Man' Leonardo da Vinci (c.1492-93) is undoubtedly one of the most iconic images of the 15th century Renaissance. It is synonymous with man in perfect proportion to, and in harmony with, his environment. The simplicity of the line drawing hides the mastery of the mathematical contruction. The internet is awash with treatise and graphic videos which serve to deconstruct the maths and aid with visualization. Conspiracy theories abound. Here we will explore a more esoteric interpretaion.

Leonardo's sketch first appeared in my work when I used it as the background video for my poem 'Movement of Feathers'. 'Vitruvian Man' as he learns to fly and transforms into a dove of peace.

'Learning to Fly' has been conceived by Joe as an attempt to interpret the poetic meaning behind the straight lines and circle within which the perfect man is inscribed. 'Am I he?' Hmmmm.... We all know that man cannot fly, but that shouldn't stop him wanting to try. Here we take that flight-of-fancy.

A man in perfect proportion is what I am., well, in perfect proportion to myself. And, if you measure yourself against yourself, you will find that you too are in perfect proportion to yourself... but probably not in exact proportion to either Vitruvius' or Leonardo's measure. And just like the circle and square conundrum, the shape of each person is irreconcilable in a perfect form, except to ourselves, making us all perfect... or, maybe, slightly imperfect...?

Even Leonardo's archtetypal perfect man is but an aggregate of the many cadavers he dissected and meticulously measured, then reassembled in perfect symmetry. No person is perfectly symmetrical. It is our faults and mutations that make us different and, therefore, beautifully perfectly imperfect.

And here, in the middle of the techno-socio revolution, we question what it is to be a perfect man...? Is it a perfect shape (which is only but an aggregate)? Or, Is there more inside me that tells who I really am? Am I even a man?

Vitruvian logo

This project started off in casual dialogue over herbal tea and biscuits. Michael was planning his Model S*X magazine programme and was looking for willing victims to be interviewed, and asked me. This sparked a converation about how would a person describe the multifaceted persona that make them up in a short interview.

We decided that we should continue the conversation and planned a photo shoot afternoon in his garden, with me wearing the clothes that he has designed. In an ad-hoc manner I brought my little handheld HD camera and decided to film this test sketch video with no particular end outcome in mind.

As the editing process began and our research into the Vitruvian Man deepened it further fueled the dialogue between the object, creator and observer. A soundtrack was required, copyright is a substantial problem, so, an original composition was scored. Eva joined the dialogue and a script was written. We Collective was born.

The project is envisioned as a multimedia installation formed around a tryptych of videos. This first video is a sketch for the centrepiece 'In the Garden', a representation of the human form in harmony with nature. The other two videos will record the history of society from the 15th Century Renaisance up to the present Renaissance 21C.

This history is lined with a burst of great discovery and positive social upheaval; the Guthenburg press and the spread of knowledge; the ascendency of science; the diminishing of the Church's authority; the Nation state; the roundness of the world. And the great (for some) Age of Enlightenment; Libertie, Egalite, Fraternite; and the science that leads to the James Webb telescope.

But, it is also responsible for equally disasterous consequences; industrialization and the Carbon imbalance; totalitarianism; the slave trade; building of toxic empires; an oil dependent growth economy; plastic; nuclear weapons.

Vitruvian logo

"The secret of change is to focus all your energy ,
not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
" Socrates

Renaissance 21C, the techno-socio revolution has begun! No-one quite knows exactly when but, here it is bulldozing it's way over all the belief systems of our past.

Technology and society have always had a symbiotic relationship. History is marked by great epochs of dependent growth cycles; pottery, farming, the wheel, the bronze age giving way to the iron-age, the first inscribed clay tablets, etc. These ages bookmark mass social changes as our cultures and societies developed from hunter-gatherer to the city state.

And now, once more, digital technology has come to disrupt our view of everything that went before. The relationship the person has with society has changed so rapidly that parents have little-to-no knowledge of the new tools that are invading our private space. How can they prepare their children for the changes we know are coming. We all now know the dangers of giving private information online. Probably a bit late for some of us early adoptors.

This project sets out to bridge the transition from the physical analogue to the digital virtual world. The output is envisioned as a multimedia installation based around video tryptych and holographic visualizations. We aim to record the human form in available technologies and master for forward compatability. It is planned, for a future iteration, to record multiple models and provide an opportunity for people to become part of the art piece as we re-imagine the aggregate of the perfect human form.

Vitruvian logo

Have you ever tried fitting a square peg into round hole? it is as impossible as fitting a real person into the perfect form of Vitruvius' model. Have you ever felt like a square peg in a round hole? Hmmm...?

The circle is associated with 'Oneness', a perfect state in symmetry and harmony with the universe, and the square with our shape in the natural physical world.

In the art of Vitruvius, the circle is the centre of oneness with the universe, radiating from the navel. The square fits squarely within the circle, in a diamond aspect which is also centered on the navel. His interest lies in the natural shapes of the human form, so as his buildings might find better harmony with nature.

Da Vinci also considers the shapes as such, however, he attempts to reconcile them in order to find a more perfect natural form mathematically, using a set of dividers and a ruler. He calculates that if you move the centre of the square, to the root of the penis, the shapes will nearly fit, at least a very close approximation. But, therein lies the conundrum, for all his mathematical genius da Vinci is not able to reconcile the square with the circle.

"The area of a square is equal to the length of one side squared (A = s^2), while the area of a circle is equal to pi times the radius squared (A = πr^2). Therefore, even if the square and the circle have the same area, they will not have the same volume because the circle has no height, only a radius, while the square has both length and width.

If you were asking whether a sphere and a cube can have the same volume, the answer would still be no. A sphere has the smallest surface area for a given volume, while a cube has the largest surface area for a given volume. Therefore, the sphere will have a smaller surface area and a larger volume than a cube with the same measurements.
" (openAI)

We Collective


Joe Profile pic.

P.F. Joseph Campbell M.Sc., B.Des., Dip.
Poseur, Artist, Actor, Filmmaker, Musician, Poet, Philosopher

""Thank you!" said the snowflake, emancipated from lumbering cloud,
grown heavy in dust drowning.

Dancing on wind break, Shining radiant (for that moment) soul endowed,
in bright moonlight twinkling.
"

"Snowflake" a poem by P.F. Joseph Campbell

I was born wondering, "What is around the corner...?". Ever since I have been on a journey of life-long learning within the fields of Education, Arts & Sciences. I am a child of the digital communication revolution of the 1960's, TV was my tutor, pop music, documentaries, style, films all captured my imagination. As a child, you could often find me wearing hats and scarves pretending to be some movie star or pop idol, something that I never grew out off.

It wasn't really a surprise that I moved to Dublin, Ireland in 1981 and studied theatre at the prestigeous Stanislavsky Studio at the Focus Theatre under Deirdre O'Connell, subsequently performing, directing and producing at the theatre until it's close in 2001.

And it wasn't quite an accident that, in 1987, I became Ireland's first 'Alternative Miss Ireland' (Miss Isle), a pageant that celebrated the beauty of diversity. The competition later became an annual event running for 21 years. A regular highlight in Dublin's social and arts calender.



In the early 1990's, he lived in London and worked in the Wardrobe Dept. at the BBC HQ working on the diverse range of television programmes output by the station. During this time he also worked as an actor and director at the Questors Theatre.

On return to Ireland he enrolled in the Film production course at IADT, graduating with a B.Des. in 2000. In his graduate year he interned as Line Producer on the film 'CHICKEN', which was nominated for a Palme D'Or at the prestigeous Cannes Film Festival.

He later undertook a post-graduate degree in the field of Technology & Learning graduating with an M.Sc. (1:1) in 2008, acheiving a Microsoft Best Dissertation Award (joint).

Some examples of Joe's work:

Movement of Feathers poem.

Movement of Feathers

Original poem 2022.

More No More poem.

More No More!

Original poem 2022.

'Wild Bees U R the Bees Knees' music video.

Wild Bees U R the Bees Knees

Original music video.
Composed, filmed and edited by Joe.

Fast Fashion Ad.

Fast Fashion.

Spoof Advert video.
Filmed and edited by Joe.

IGUANA pilot PREZI presentation.

Iguana

PREZI pilot presentation

Double Truth News.

Double Truth News Bulletin.

Satirical News broadcast video.
Written, filmed and edited by Joe.

Fast Food Ad.

Fast Food.

Spoof Advert video.
Filmed and edited by Joe.

Nearly Nothing music video.

Nearly Nothing.

Original music composition and video.
Composed, filmed and edited by Joe.

A Tingling Feeling music video.

A Tingling Feeling.

Original music composition and video.
Composed, filmed and edited by Joe.

Base&Rum pop promo music video for Fiachra Shanks.

Base&Rum.

Original music composition,
pop promo music video for Fiachra Shanks.
Filmed and edited by Joe.

Girl pop promo music video for the group Bangover.

Girl.

Original music composition,
pop promo music video for the group Bangover.
Produced and edited by Joe.

Secret Life website.

Secret Life

Official website

Double Truth News website.

Double Truth News

Website

Tabletop Films website.

Tabletop films

Website

PHONLAB FLASH application.

PHONLAB

M.Sc. graduate project. 2008

Youtube Evelyn Campbell Band Playlist link.

Evelyn Campbell Band

Youtube videos.

Youtube Showreel Playlist link.

Joe Videos

Unlisted showreel youtube videos.

Youtube Playlist link.

Thorn Island

Live at the Dalkey Duck youtube videos.

Eva profile pic.

Eva Harryson
Artist, Designer, Singer/Songwriter, Musician & Philosopher

"He was wearing a red nose, when he asked me to be his friend
but his eyes had a curious tenderness and my heart said an instant Yes!
Now later on in the show, as he entered from stage left
in a cloud of falling rose petals, wearing a pink dress

I thought if I was a he, he was a she, I would fall at his pretty feet and say
je suis fou de vous Madame, je suis fou de vous Madame."


"Fou De Vous Madame" lyrics by Eva Harryson.

Eva has never been able to settle into one discipline at the exclusion of all others, which makes her either a Jack of all trades, or a Renaissance Woman.

Philosophy, Mythology, Depth psychology, Music, Painting, Design, or other media of Art, it all seems to draw from the same well; a desire to understand and express something about the human condition and the place of the individual as it relates to the Cosmos.

Eva studied at Dublin Institute of Technology and completed a B.A Interior&Furniture Design. She holds a Diploma in Jungian Psychology, C.G.Jung center, Dublin. Eva also studied Comparative Religion at Stockholm University, but moved to Ireland in 1989 before completing her B.A.. Her album, "Means to be Loved" was recorded/produced by Michael Grau in Grousound studios, New Jersey N.Y. It's Executive producer was Henrik Havris, Who Ever Management. It was released on Whoever records in 2006.

Some examples of Eva's work:

Eva Painting: Papa.

Papa

Original painting.

Eva Painting: Artist At Work

Artist At Work

Original painting.

Eva Painting

First Encounter

Original painting.

Eva Painting: Pathfinder

Pathfinder

Original painting.

Eva Painting: Self Portrait Age 3

Self Portrait Age 3

Original painting.

Eva Painting: Stars In Our Eyes

Stars In Our Eyes

Original painting.

Eva Painting: The Garden

The Garden

Original painting.

Eva Harryson Fous de Vous Madame.

Fou De Vous Madame.

Original music by Eva Harryson,

Eva Harryson Argentinian Tango

Argentinian Tango.

Original music by Eva Harryson,

Eva Harryson An Elvis Song

An Elvis Song.

Original music by Eva Harryson,

Eva Harryson Steady Glow

Steady Glow.

Original music by Eva Harryson,

Eva Harryson Hats Off

Hats Off.

Original music by Eva Harryson & Niall Lawlor,

Eva Harryson Eve's Lullaby

Eve's Lullaby: Requiem for a Sex Worker.

Original music by Eva Harryson,

Michael profile pic.

Michael Cooney Model S*X
Poseur, Artist, Dancer, Designer, Interviewer, Musician


What I say to myself:
"Dare to imagine, dare to be, even if you are not free. Your true, pure, self, is like a piece of gold, untarnished by outside elements. You can't be normal, it's a waste of time and a denial of all the tastes and possibilities. Chaos and order are friends, brothers, sisters, strangers; necessary components in any relationship, with others and with oneself."

Inspiration: Malcolm McClaren's principal in art college gave him and his classmates the choice to strive to be 'Benign Successes or Magnificent Failures'!

Michael worked for over 20 years as a dancer trapped in his own confines of inner conformity that had shaped him, nourished him, but that kept him on a tight leash. After a debilitating back injury he discovered the study of clothes design, and the key to releasing his true nature. Stepping into clothes became an act of Drag, not the limited cliche just of cross dressing but the swagger of authenticity through appearance, reaching into a new silhouette. Since then he has re-applied himself to his dance, his music, everything, grateful for the patience of everyone who gave him opportunities from day one, his earliest struggles through to the present and forward.

Model S'X is a theatrical ploy, I like that script.

Some examples of Michael's work:

Model S*X Youtube Playlist link.

Model S*X Magazine 01

Model S*X Magazine 01 youtube video.

Model S*X Youtube Playlist link.

Model S*X Magazine 02

Model S*X Magazine 02 youtube video.

Model S*X Kompact #1 youtube link.

Model S*X Magazine 02

Model S*X Magazine 02 youtube video.

Model S*X Kompact Sol Robinson youtube link.

Model S*X Kompact Sol Robinson.

Model S*X Kompact Sol Robinson.

Model S*X Magazine Katherine Michael youtube link.

Model S*X Magazine Katherine Michael.

Model S*X Magazine _Katherine Michael.

Model S*X at Le Denier Paradise Youtube link.

Model S*X live at Le Denier Paradise.

Youtube video.

Model S*X at Le Denier Paradise Youtube link.

Model S*X live at Le Denier Paradise.

Youtube video.

Le Denier Paradise Playlist Youtube link.

Le Denier Paradise.

Youtube video playlist.

Le Denier Paradise flyer.

Le Denier Paradise.

Flyer

Le Denier Paradise flyer.

Le Denier Paradise.

Flyer

Comment

Please drop a comment and send us an email if you would like to find out more about the project as it progresses.


Cosciousness expa ding. Meditate
Liam de


Very well done looking forward to more if your work
Moira


This is so beautiful. Human being in perfect proportions to themselves, standing in the garden of eden. What are the proportions of "capitalist man", and how does that effect the garden of eden?
Sarah


I am a Renaissance woman for sure, my own heARTwork draws on Pyhthagorean and ancient South Pacific wisdom to weave in Light, the multifaceted soul with six faces, just like a crystal... The purpose? To communicate we are all uniquely beautiful... A shared 'intent' with this stunning project I feel. This project's process, ethos and evolution are igniting my soul... I am looking forward to the next instalment. Thank You for the introduction to this Eva... 💕 A dream manifest from 'biscuits and tea'. I LOVE it!
Liyanne (she/her)


A beautiful piece. A wonderful vusion of information and esthetic.
Joe purcell


Very soothing ,dreamlike experience . Can only support the notion that imperfection challenges perfect symmetry in the beauty stakes
Ann-Marie


This piece is hypnotic and almost trance-like. Enjoying it. Great music and graphics. Very relaxing.
Stephen


Beautiful graphics and concept which definitely needs to be explored in this media driven world. I am looking forward to seeing the next chapter.
Linda C


Incredibly relaxing and enveloping. Are we what's defined or the definers? Are we in the wheel or outside it? Explore yourself for answers. Then, rinse and repeat. That's what I'm gonna do. Thank you to the creators of this and the creators of all. It's been interesting.
Ang!


Where do we begin Vitruvius was a Roman architect during the 1st century BC. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attributes: firmitas, utilitas, and venustas ("strength", "utility", and "beauty"). His discussion of perfect proportion in architecture and the human body led to the famous Renaissance drawing of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci. Our toolbox; The human brain always seeks to interpret our environment in a fashion that makes sense, that it can rationalise understand and accept. Believe systems evolved to explain away "mysteries" and science dissected phenomenon. We use terms like "esoteric" or "abstract" as we delve into the more fuzzy mystical arts. Connecting the dots from Vitruvius's concept through Leonardo da Vinci's reinterpretation, Learning to fly, sets out to explore our potential evolutionary pathways as we enter the techno-socio age. "Learning to fly" is indeed probing these boundaries.
Tom