Inventions: Twelve Around One
A portfolio of thirteen screenprints and text by Buckminster Fuller published by the Carl Solway Gallery. The portfolio was produced under the supervision of Buckminster Fuller by Colophon, Cincinnati, Ohio. The edition is limited to 60 numbered portfolios (1-60) and 20 hors commerce (I-XX). Each of the thirteen prints consists of two 30" x 40" screenprinted sheets, one of which illustrates drawings for a patent invention by Fuller, and the second sheet illustrates the realization of the concept. These two sheets may be presented separately, in two frames; or together, as an overlay, in one frame. This catalogue reproduces both presentation options. The patent invention drawings are screenprinted in white ink on a clear polyester film. A plain blue backing sheet, provided with each print, may be placed under the clear film patent drawings to create the effect of a blueprint. The accompanying photo realization of each invention is a screenprint on Lenox 100 percent rag paper. The text pages and the blue backing sheets are Curtis Tweedweave 100 percent rag paper made especially for this portfolio. Each of the thirteen prints in the portfolio is hand signed and numbered by Buckminster Fuller on the clear film element.

SYNERGETIC BUILDING CONSTRUCTION OCTETRUSS
United States Patent Office no. 2,986,241, filed February 7, 1956, serial no. 563,931, granted May 30, 1961, inventor: Buckminster Fuller

Throughout the year 1959 "Three Structures by Buckminster Fuller" were featured in a show held in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The structures, a tensegrity mast, an octetruss and a geodesic dome, embody the structural principles used by nature and are thus strong, light-weight, and very beautiful, although aesthetic considerations played no part in their design.

The octetruss is all aluminum alloy, weighing 8,000 pounds, one hundred feet long, thirty-five feet wide and sixty feet high, composed of tetrahedrons and octahedrons. These geometric figures distribute load equally through four sets of parallel planes, giving the structure its great strength: sixty-five pounds of octetruss can support twelve thousand pounds. The accompanying screenprint image of the Octetruss is derived from an installation photograph by Alexandre Georges for the exhibition: Three Structures by Buckminster Fuller, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 22 September 1959 through the winter of 1959-60.