More on the Fuller exhibit, this time from Slate’s Witold Rybczynski (whose book, Last Harvest, I recently read and very much enjoyed). He notes some recent discrepencies regarding Fuller’s history, including casting doubt on his invention of the geodesic dome:
The Times story is titillating, but it pales beside the revelation made 35 years ago by Lloyd Kahn, an early geodesic dome devotee. The geodesic dome,
a spherical structure constructed out of small elements that make it
lightweight and extremely strong, was long associated with Fuller. Kahn
revealed that the world’s first geodesic dome was a planetarium
designed for the Carl Zeiss optical works in Jena, Germany, by Dr. Walter Bauersfeld in 1922—30 years before Fuller filed his patent for the device.
He then considers whether Buckminster Fuller was really an early “green” designer as the Whitney exhibit portrays him.
Searching for the true legacy of Buckminster Fuller. – By Witold Rybczynski – Slate Magazine
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Tagged: Buckminster Fuller, Dymaxion, Slate, Witold Rybczynski
The latest New Yorker includes a profile of Buckminster Fuller by Elizabeth Kolbert. She walks through the usual history of Fuller and his many inventions, included his invented vocabulary. To me the most interesting thing about Bucky was his frequently recounted story of contemplating suicide and deciding instead to devote his life to serving humanity as a whole. As recounted by Kolbert:
With no job and a new baby to support, Fuller became depressed. One day, he was walking by Lake Michigan, thinking about, in his words, “Buckminster Fuller—life or death,” when he found himself suspended several feet above the ground, surrounded by sparkling light. Time seemed to stand still, and a voice spoke to him. “You do not have the right to eliminate yourself,” it said. “You do not belong to you. You belong to Universe.” (In Fuller’s idiosyncratic English, “universe”—capitalized—is never preceded by the definite article.) It was at this point, according to Fuller, that he decided to embark on his “lifelong experiment.” The experiment’s aim was nothing less than determining “what, if anything,” an individual could do “on behalf of all humanity.” For this study, Fuller would serve both as the researcher and as the object of inquiry.
Good article and a nice introduction to Bucky for those unfamiliar with the breadth of his work.
«Link»
They also have a great slideshow online with the article here
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Tagged: architecture, Buckminster Fuller, design, Dymaxion
