Sam Green, Yo La Tengo to partner on 'live documentary' of inventor Fuller

Filmmaker Sam Green will bring his “live documentary” project “The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller” to SUNY Oswego’s Hewitt ballroom at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, with an original score performed onstage by the indie rock band Yo La Tengo.

The multimedia event traces the life and career of the noted 20th-century futurist, architect, engineer and inventor. An early proponent of environmental stewardship, Fuller spoke persuasively about the potential of design and architecture to encourage sustainable living and positive social change.

Fuller appeared at the same SUNY Oswego venue in 1973, drawing an overflow crowd. At one point in his visit, he offered a $1,000 prize to a student or faculty member who came up with a workable plan to harness the wave action of Lake Ontario.

“We’ve presented the film all over the world, but this is an especially exciting event for us because of Buckminster Fuller’s history with SUNY Oswego,” Green said. “The members of Yo La Tengo and I look forward to sharing this celebration of Fuller and his ideas with students, faculty and the community.”

Screening rare video material gleaned from the Fuller archive at Stanford University, Green serves as narrator for the evening, capturing Fuller’s global perspective and his surprising role as technical guru to the youth culture of the 1960s and ‘70s.

Live soundtrack

Green received an Academy Award nomination for his 2004 documentary “Weather Underground.” His recent works aim to revitalize cinema as a communal experience by incorporating elements of live contemporary performance. Drawing on the idea of live theater music that flourished during the golden age of silent film, he tapped Yo La Tengo—Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew—as creative collaborators on the Buckminster Fuller project.

Characterized by AllMusic as “one of indie rock’s most respected bands, with a dreamy melodicism influenced by the Velvet Underground,” Yo La Tengo has released 14 highly eclectic albums, including their current retrospective, “Stuff Like That There.” For Green’s “Love Song,” they perform beside the large screen, creating a seamless soundtrack as the filmmaker tells the story and manipulates imagery from across the stage.

The multimedia event has been staged at major venues worldwide, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Barbican in London. In April, the filmmaker and band will reprise the show at the Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City.

An exhibition of Fuller-inspired artifacts and artwork—many produced over the years by the college’s students of design—adorns a display case near the ballroom entrance in Hewitt. Students, faculty and staff across the campus and at Rice Creek Field Station have joined the Fuller celebration, inside and outside of classes.

Tickets to “The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller” are $20 ($5 for all students), available at SUNY Oswego box offices, online at tickets.oswego.edu or by calling 315-312-2141. Parking is included in the price of a ticket, and is available in the lot in front of Culkin Hall and the adjacent lot behind Hart and Funnelle residence halls.

For more information about this and other SUNY Oswego performances, visit oswego.edu/arts.