Project Description:
A collaborative venture between the Stanford University Libraries and the Stanford Humanities Lab
"A sailor, a machinist, a comprehensive generalist, a doer, a new former, a student of trends, a technical editor, a businessman, an angel, a quarterback, a lecturer, a critic, an experimental seminarist, a random element, a verb, a comprehensive designer, an inventor, an engineer, an architect, a cartographer, a philosopher, a poet, a cosmogonist, a choreographer, a visionary, a scientist, a valuable unit, a mathematician, an air pilot, a Navy lieutenant, an affable genie, a geometer, a maverick thinker, a gentle revolutionist, a lovable genius, an anti-academician, doctor of science, doctor of arts, doctor of design, doctor of humanities, an amiable lunatic, a prophet, the custodian of a vital resource."
Thus went Robert Snyder's apt description of R. Buckminster Fuller, alias "Bucky," one of the twentieth century's most remarkable and prolific creators. Where language failed to accommodate his diversity of activities, Fuller coined his own term, calling himself a "comprehensive anticipatory design scientist."
The polymathic nature of Fuller's activities gave him an expansive outlook on the twentieth century. His enormous energy, his passionate interest in applying science to solve the problems of humanity, and his mesmerizing personality earned him fame if not fortune during his lifetime. Bent on developing inexpensive, mass-producible housing and transportation, he developed the Dymaxion dwelling unit and car, and later pioneered the geodesic dome. He also wrote numerous books including Tetrascroll, Critical Path, Synergetics, and Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth.
A prolific speaker, Fuller circled the globe numerous times, lecturing on design science and encouraging people to leverage humanity's "option for success." Over the years, he taught at various colleges, was awarded 25 U.S. patents, and received 47 honorary degrees in the arts, sciences, engineering and humanities. His ability, if not compulsion, to record all his activities resulted in a vast archive of materials (estimated 1300 linear ft), including 4,000 hours of videotape and the huge Dymaxion Chronofile, in which he documented his life on a daily basis from 1915 through his death in 1983. This extensive archive of one of the twentieth century's most remarkable minds was acquired by the Stanford University Libraries in 1999.
In the winter quarter of 2001-2002, SHL and Stanford University Libraries sponsored a research seminar on Fuller, followed by a second seminar in Fall 2003. SHL and Stanford Libraries also came together to bring a lecture series entitled " Conversations on R. Buckminster Fuller" to Stanford, consisting of discussions with a number of Fuller's close personal and professional associates. These conversations are available as streaming video, at right. Also available are Virtual Reality models of some the structures that Fuller and his students built, as well as links to related other Fuller resources. This project intends to show historians of science and technology, American social and cultural history, architecture and design the richness of the collection, and the potential it offers for opening up new avenues toward understanding of Fuller and his legacy.
Initiatives are currently underway between the Stanford University Libraries and SHL to launch an exhibition on the work of R. Buckminster Fuller, which will draw heavily on materials found in the Stanford Archive and will also include models and purpose-built reconstructions. Both historic artifacts and immersive environments will be used to place Fuller's work in historical context and to explore his lasting influence on artists, designers and architects in the twentieth century and beyond.
The collaborative SHL/SUL Buckminster Fuller Project continues to develop multimedia content related to the Fuller Archive, and to pursue initiatives that will enhance access to the archival collection and encourage new scholarship.
News:
Fuller project paper published in St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Core Personnel:
- Hsiao-Yun Chu — Assistant Curator and Projects Coordinator, R. Buckminster Fuller Archive, Stanford University
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