
Buckminster Fuller: "Doing More with Less," Part 2
July 28, 2008 at 5:00 pm
by Christopher
I recently posted that I would be visiting the Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. I did indeed attend that exhibit, which was one of the better museum experiences I have had in a long time. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed in the exhibit, so I won't be able to share any of my own images.
However, one of my favorite displays at the exhibit was one which showed several versions of Fuller's dymaxion world maps, which he created with a primary purpose of "allowing people to view all of the major land masses without any of the maps' borders passing through, and therefore dividing, the major land masses...without grossly distorting the continent's relative (to each other) overall size and shape." They are fascinating.
Another display concerned Bucky's Cloud Nine concept, which was essentially the idea that enormous geodesic spheres could be constructed and made to float by heating the air within them. Because of their mass, they would be potentially strong enough to hold cities within them. Incredible!
Finally, the exhibit also included several volumes of Bucky's Dymaxion Chronofile, a comprehensive documentation of his life, which he started in 1920 and maintained until his death in 1983. Because of this document, Fuller's life has become know as one of the most documented lives in history.