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R. Buckminster Fuller

Six Part Push Pull Tensegrity, ca. 1979

Description

Maker

  • R. Buckminster Fuller, 1895-1983, American

Title

Six Part Push Pull Tensegrity

Year

ca. 1979

Medium

Stainless steel and Dacron cable

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • dacron,
  • stainless steel

Dimensions

57.1 x 67.3 x 55.9 cm (22 x 26 x 22 inches)

Place

Western

Type

  • Sculpture

Credit

Gift of Estrellita Karsh, in memory of Yousuf Karsh

Object Number

2011.3

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Building Blocks

May 6, 2011 - March 25, 2012

Buckminster Fuller’s Tensegrity sculpture (the title is a contraction of “tensional integrity”) demonstrates the designer’s principle of “discontinuous compression and continuous tension.” It represents an infinitely expandable modular form in which the six metal rods are held together only at their terminals by string. This modular system, similar to the structure of an atom and other forms in nature, is applied on a larger scale in Fuller’s geodesic domes and his Dymaxion House. Black-and-white images with text and Mylar overlays make Fuller’s two-dimensional renderings of his futuristic engineering projects and designs as dynamic as the three-dimensional Tensegrity. The complete portfolio serves as a visual retrospective of Fuller’s lifetime accomplishments as an inventor, engineer, architect, and artist.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in Copyright. This object is Six Part Push Pull Tensegrity with the accession number of 2011.3. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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