- Title: Croatian multimedia exhibition marks 75th anniversary of Nikola Tesla's death
- Date: 19th January 2018
- Summary: ROOM AT EXHIBITION DISPLAYING VARIOUS INVENTIONS AND DEVICES EARLY MOTION PICTURE DEVICE DRAWING OF INVENTOR THOMAS ALVA EDISON EXHIBITION AREA WIRE-MADE STATUE OF NIKOLA TESLA AUTHOR OF 'NIKOLA TESLA - MIND FROM THE FUTURE' EXHIBITION, HELENA BULAJA-MADUNIC, WALKING PAST VIDEO SCREENS (SOUNDBITE) (Croatian) AUTHOR OF 'NIKOLA TESLA - MIND FROM THE FUTURE' EXHIBITION, HELEN
- Embargoed: 2nd February 2018 13:56
- Keywords: 75th anniversary of inventor Nikola Tesla's death Zagreb exhibition Croatian-born scientist'
- Location: ZAGREB AND SMILJAN, CROATIA
- City: ZAGREB AND SMILJAN, CROATIA
- Country: Croatia
- Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Science
- Reuters ID: LVA0027YS2721
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Nikola Tesla's death, revered as one of the world's greatest inventors, an exhibition in Zagreb is taking an innovative approach in presenting the scientist's life and legacy.
Tesla, who developed, among other things, the alternating current electricity supply system widely in use today, was born to Serbian parents in 1856 in what is now Croatia and died in New York in 1943. His ashes were later taken to Belgrade.
The exhibition, titled 'Mind from the Future', involved around a hundred artists and craftsmen. It was designed to emphasise how Tesla's discoveries in electricity and engineering impacted the entertainment and creative industries.
A section of the exhibition includes installations by contemporary artists inspired by Tesla's inventions, while the main part of the show offers visitors a chance to stroll through an artistic rendition of what might have been Tesla's mind.
Various exhibits trace links between Tesla and artists of his time that he had met during his most productive years in New York in the early 20th century, including American architect Stanford White, author Mark Twain and the portrait painter Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy.
Other artists, not directly related to Tesla but indirectly inspired by his inventions are also mentioned, such as the French filmmaker Georges Melies, or the illusionist Harry Houdini.
Meanwhile, a more traditional approach to Tesla's legacy can be seen at his restored family home in the village of Smiljan, in the mountainous region of Lika some 200 kilometres south of Zagreb.
In 2006, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth, Serbian and Croatian former presidents joined together to open the museum inside his restored childhood home.
The centre, lit by neon lights invented by Tesla, attracts about 40,000 visitors every year from all over the world who come to see replicas of his inventions, including his groundbreaking remote-controlled boat and a million-volt Tesla coil.
But a bigger and more complete selection of his coils, turbines and other inventions is housed in the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum, Croatia's premier science museum, where a special 100-seat auditorium was built to present his legacy to future generations.
In yet another mix of science and pop culture that marked Tesla's life, the huge coils on display were donated to the museum after being built as set pieces for a popular 1970s locally produced television series about Tesla, starring Rade Serbedzija.
The museum's curator, Renato Filipin, also said that artists and scientists tends to have different takes on Tesla as he lived an unusual and eccentric life. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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