Presentation by Stuart Glenday In 1955, John McHale, rising star of the British "Pop Art" movement met the American anti-establishment visionary and inventor of the geodesic dome, Richard Buckminster Fuller. This meeting would change his life and help change the world. Stuart Glenday tells their story; the story of a collaboration which gave rise to the "Hippy Modernist" green political movement of the 60's and 70's, and, which eventually led to one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 20th Century. Many thanks to GROW in Hackney Wick, Wick Radio and Marie Brenneis from DollyOlly Studios. Listen to the presentation on Mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/wickradio/grow-talks-stuart-glenday-talks-buckminsterfuller/

1. In 1955, John McHale, rising star of the British "Pop Art" movement met the American
anti-establishment visionary and inventor of the geodesic dome, Richard Buckminster
Fuller. This meeting would change change his life and help change the world.
Stuart Glenday tells their story; the story of a collaboration which gave rise to the "Hippy
Modernist" green political movement of the 60's and 70's, and, which eventually led to
one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 20th Century.
Many thanks to GROW in Hackney Wick, Wick Radio and Marie Brenneis from DollyOlly
Studios.
Listen to the presentation on Mixcloud
https://www.mixcloud.com/wickradio/grow-talks-stuart-glenday-talks-buckminster-
fuller/

3. DYMAXION – Dynamic Maximum Tension

4. "What is a house?"
"The 2000 year streamlining of society"
"Teleology"
"Accounting subterfuges of capital's bankruptcy"
"E=mc2=Mrs Murphy's Horse-power”

10. Observer – June 21 1959

11. Machine-Made America IIWhy I Took To The Washers In Luxury Flats

12. This is Tomorrow. Whitechapel Gallery 1956

13. Justwhatisitthatmakestoday'shomessodifferent,so
appealing?

14. 
Questions
 Is “Pop Art” post-modernism?
 Why was a pop artist interested in Bucky?

Utopianism

Futurologist

Modernist.....

15. Not just a passing interest

John had written to Bucky in 1955 to ask if he was
influenced by the work of Bauhaus

John had been introduced to Bucky during his scholarship
to Yale 1955-56 – Prior to the “Future of tomorrow”
exhibition at Whitechapel

Populariser of Bucky in the UK. Articles, Biography,
Meetings.

1960s he became an Associate with Buckminster Fuller in
the World Resources Inventory and in the World Design
Science Decade Centre at Southern Illinois University
Carbondale.

Darwin's Bulldog. Thomas Henry Huxley

16. World Design Science Decade 1965-
1975

19. ‘We are as Gods and might as well get good at it. So far,
remotely done power and glory – as via government, big
business, formal education, church – has succeeded to the
point where gross defects obscure actual gains. In response . . .
a realm of intimate, personal power is developing – the power of
the individual to conduct his own education, find his own
inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his
adventure with whoever is interested. Tools that aid this process
are sought and promoted by the WHOLE EARTH CATALOG.’

22. "When I was young, there was an amazing
publication called The Whole Earth
Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my
generation.... It was sort of like Google in
paperback form, 35 years before Google
came along. It was idealistic and
overflowing with neat tools and great
notions."
Steve Jobs
What went wrong?