The life's work, designs and philosophies of visionary R. Buckminster Fuller are highlighted in this extensive exhibition. Drawings and sketches, models, excerpts from Fuller's notebooks, and much more dating from 1927 to the 1980s cover his remarkable conceptions of space and construction. Early materials such as the 4D Lightful Tower, a type of stable mobile housing unit, and the Dymaxion house and car with their space-age design, re-envisioned ideas of shelter and housing. Thorough explorations of geometric form and stability led to Fuller's most well-known and widely-executed concept, the geodesic dome, a structure of interlocking triangles which bears its own weight. Fuller's commitment to humanity and his awareness of the necessity to conserve finite resources of physical materials, space, and time were the philosophies which drove his continual exploration. The MCA's installation of this show expands on that of the 2008 venue at the Whitney Museum of American Art by highlighting the Chicago focus of Fuller's days at the School of Design (later the Institute of Design at IIT) and Southern Illinois University. The materials on display are evidence of a remarkable mind at work. A reading room with shelves full of Fuller's favorite books crowns this exhibition with the rare opportunity to leaf through and enjoy the stimulating material that inspired the man himself. At the MCA through June 21, 2009.
Image: Boris Artzybasheff, R. Buckminster Fuller, 1963. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine.
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