There, I Fixed It: R. Buckminster Fuller

13 March thru 15 May 2011
Location: Hogewal 1-9, The Hague
Survey page There, I Fixed It: click here

'There, I Fixed It' refers to a mentality, a way of looking at materials and problems that is both bold and unexpected. Unruly solutions to urgent problems.

"It was never my intention to design a geodesic dome. I wanted to discover the principles at work in our universe. I could have ended up with a pair of flying slippers."
- R. Buckminster 'Bucky' Fuller.

The American Richard Buckminster Fuller (1885-1983) was, among other things, a visionary, philosopher, mathematician and influential thinker, and in all these areas he was a self-made man. He argued that the triangle is the basic structure of nature. He made models illustrating this and helping him explain to laymen what he was doing. He proved capable of making a conceptual bridge between the natural and human sciences.

1927 was a pivotal year for him, after having considered suicide, he realized that he belonged to the universe and had no right to self-destruct. From that moment on he took himself and his experiences as raw material for a series of experiments designed to improve the human environment. He referred to himself as Guinea Pig B. He concluded that the universe is always moving, and that everything moves in the direction of the least resistance. It is therefore of the utmost importance to design shapes that could move humanity in the desired direction of the least resistance.

Fuller was one of the few 20th-century scientists who in everything he did always wondered what the social implications were of his discoveries. He stressed the usefulness of his ideas for the largest possible group of people. His insights formed in 1968 the basis for the makers of the Whole Earth Catalog, a paper database of thousands of tips, tools, suggestions and possibilities passed on to get the best out of life.

The legacy of Fuller, and in particular the geodesic dome as an aesthetic but also environmental object (light, easy to build), affects artists to this day. Eva Diaz describes in her article Dome Culture (2011) the different ways in which Fuller's work has been used by contemporary artists such as Mary Mattingly, Hazel Larsen, Fritz Haeg, Nils Norman or Oscar Tuazon.

The exhibition 'There, I Fixed I't, shows film clips from the 1974 documentary The World of Buckminster Fuller, that illuminate a number of key aspects of his oeuvre: the Dymaxion car, house and world map and of course the dome. The triangle as starting point for his creations is discussed in a Fuller film clip in which we listen to a lecture he gives in his yard on the advantages of the triangle. Fuller was known for the long lectures (sometimes going on for days!) he gave the world over.

We also exhibit a dome built after Fuller's design by the Belgian architect Walter De Ley.

LINKS
Website R. Buckminster Fuller Institute

fragment from documentary 'The World of Buckminster Fuller', 1974
photo: Rob Kollaard, courtesy Stroom Den Haag

Geodesic dome after R. Buckminster Fuller, by architect Walter De Ley
photo: Rob Kollaard, courtesy Stroom Den Haag

fragment from documentary 'The World of Buckminster Fuller', 1974
photo: Rob Kollaard, courtesy Stroom Den Haag

R. Buckminster Fuller surrounded by study models from his teaching and research, Black Mountain College, 1949
photo: courtesy, The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller

R. Buckminster Fuller, Necklace Dome, geodesic structure that folds together, 1950
photo: courtesy, The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller

R. Buckminster Fuller, Dome, on loan from architect Walter De Ley