Myth, Math & Magic: Buckminster Fuller's Legacy & Hall's Hermetic Wisdom with artist Benjamin Lowder

“Myth, Math & Magic”: Connecting Buckminster Fuller's Legacy Using Geodesic Geometry and Sacred Geometry to the Hermetic Wisdom Traditions that Manly P. Hall Explored with artist Benjamin Lowder
“Myth, Math & Magic” is Benjamin Lowder’s ongoing series of artwork. It is comprised of two- and three-dimensional assemblages created from reclaimed lumber and vintage signage. The advertising tropes of the vintage signs are deconstructed and reassembled into geometric patterns that break the magic spell cast by the advertising’s messages. These material artifacts are recast to transmute feelings of nostalgia for an unsustainable past while drawing forward ancient wisdom in support of an abundant future. These works highlight the transitory nature of the material used to create them while exalting the eternal patterns that govern their form. These patterns are drawn from the geodesic geometry of Buckminster Fuller as well as the sacred geometry of phi ratios. The resulting works are magical wayfinding totems made to guide our collective journey. This work uses the shared familiarity of our cultural artifacts and makes them strange by transforming them into objects that recall a mystic lineage. Benjamin explains that, “in working with this medium of material artifacts, I see them as place holders for the culture at large, and through their remaking, they undergo an alchemical metamorphosis. This material is transmuted into new objects that signify the dreams of our ancestors and place them as sign posts at the crossroads of the present moment.”
Join us for a conversation with Benjamin Lowder, connecting Buckminster Fuller's legacy using Geodesic Geometry and Sacred Geometry to the Hermetic Wisdom Traditions that Manly P. Hall explored.
This event is in support of "Splendor and Formation" new works by Benjamin Lowder curated by David Orr on view in the Hansell Gallery from 11.5.22-2.25.23
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The Philosophical Research Society (PRS) is pleased to present Splendor and Formation, a new exhibition of works by Benjamin Lowder at the Hansell Gallery. This marks Lowder’s first showing at PRS.
Works in the Splendor and Formation exhibition - sculpture, installation, and objects - are a continuation and extension of Lowder’s Myth, Math & Magic series of artworks. “On both formal and intellectual levels, Lowder’s process simultaneously explores construction and deconstruction,” says curator David Orr: “he often uses vintage advertising signage as a source to create work that breaks the spell of marketing and points toward the transcendent. In Splendor and Formation he is expanding ideas of language as source and geometry.”
This exhibition at PRS is especially meaningful to Lowder, whose practice is directly influenced by the work of founder Manly Palmer Hall. “I often listen to Manly Hall’s lectures while working in the studio, especially his rendition of the Sefer Yetzirah also known as the ‘Book of Formation.’” Lowder says, then elaborates: “The Sefer Yetzirah describes the specific way in which language, through the power of the ‘Word,’ sparks the formation of material existence.” Another influence on Lowder's constructions is legendary designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller (Lowder is center director at the Fuller Dome at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and a board member of the R.Buckminster Fuller Dome Home at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale). Echoes of Fuller’s geometries and social theories permeate Lowder’s work, and will manifest as an entryway installation via dome components unwrapped to form arches. “I’m interested in Fuller’s social theories as well as his visionary technical prowess,” Lowder says. “I always want my work to reflect both.”
It is fitting that Lowder is bringing architectural influences which bridge ancient and futuristic to PRS, a Los Angeles landmark designed by Robert Stacy-Judd. “I am grateful for the opportunity to show my work at the source of my inspiration," says Lowder. “I see this as an opportunity to explore connections between Manly Hall and Buckminster Fuller and their ways of thinking.”
Curator bio: David Orr is an LA-Based artist and curator. He founded the Hansell Gallery in 2018.
To support programs like these please visit www.prs.org/support.html