Starting with the Universe

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Alex Sudalnik, contributor

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The Whitney Museum of American Art is currently running the exhibition "Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe."

Portland Center Stage

The exhibition poster.

Whitney Museum of American Art

A tetrahedron.

Whitney Museum of American Art

A bracelet with a brass triangular design.

Alex Sudalnik

Short-row knitting to create triangular designs.

http://www.savageknits.com/

The Whitney Museum of American Art is currently running the exhibition "Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe."

Photo: Portland Center Stage

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Welcome to the Universe!

This past weekend, I visited the Whitney Museum of American Art's exhibition "Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe." The exhibit explored Fuller's career after 1927, when he began his life-long goal of improving the state of humanity.

Fuller described himself as a "comprehensive anticipatory design scientist." He felt one should design and think holistically and with the outcome in mind, believing the merging of design and science would benefit mankind.

He was a prolific man. Among his achievements (including the Geodesic Dome), I found his ideas of Spaceship Earth and Synergy the most relevant to today's world. Spaceship Earth refers to Fuller's goal to educate and provide Man with the data to best use its resources. Synergy refers to the idea of the whole being dependent on its parts, without looking at those parts as single entities. I feel these concepts are essential to handling the problems the world faces today.

The Tetrahedron (three-sided pyramid) was Fuller's passion, and I think it's a great launching pad for creating dynamic and interesting designs. Here are some ideas to get your mind racing on ways to make Fuller's passion your own:

• Create a quilt using triangles. Mix it up by changing the scales of the triangles throughout the quilt.
• Use short-rowing to knit an interesting Buckminster Fuller-inspired hat or scarf.
• Create a necklace by making wire triangles. Layer the triangles to create interest and depth.

Be sure to check out the amazing videos on Fuller at the Whitney's exhibition website.

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Comments (2)

suzybisque writes: Thanks for putting up the Whitneys website, as I am definitely going to go there and get some inspiration! I never considered triangles as a design element, but now I am going to play around with it and see what comes up. Bucky was an amazing foward-thinking individual, and I agree with you, extemely relevant today. Enjoy your blog.
Posted: 12:37 pm on September 16th

rsudaln writes: Bucky was way ahead of his time. He taught at Southern Illinois University and his students loved him. It is nice to see the world recognizing him. Great blog.
Posted: 12:03 pm on September 15th

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