While exploring and experiencing the enormous giant crystals at Richard Berger's Masterpieces of the Earth Gallery, I could not help but wonder how my mentor and teacher Buckminster Fuller would have responded to Berger's unique Earth artifacts. I am pretty sure Bucky would call them "Earth artifacts" (with the name of our planet capitalized, as it should be) because they are physical structures that were created naturally and adhere to the Generalized Principles he sought to discover and utilize.
Looking through "Bucky eyes" at the crystals and other Earth elements that Berger's company, Museum Associates, has amassed, I could not help but notice that each was a unique entity, yet each also followed a structural pattern. I have no doubt that had Bucky been there with us, he'd have explained the Synergetic Math visible in each piece and used them to defend his personal form of mathematics over conventional "wisdom."
When looking at any crystal, one can't help but notice that almost all the angles are, in fact, triangulated, because (just as Bucky taught for all his adult life) the triangle is nature's only effective and efficient building system. Berger does have a few crystals that have square or rectangular formations, but, upon closer examination, one can see that the right angle forms are actually build upon internal triangles. As Bucky so often told us, "only triangle has integrity, only triangle holds its shape without external support."
So, as I wandered through the Masterpieces of the Earth Gallery, I was struck by the perfect integrity of each crystal and formation, from the tiniest geode to the enormous, 7,000-pound crystals. Each is perfect in and of itself. Each has a unique integrity, just as every sentient being on Earth has a unique integrity of mission and purpose.
Buckminster Fuller was a master of the broad perspective, and in Berger's gallery I could almost sense him reminding me (as he did for so many so often) to "pay attention, dear boy." With that message resonating in my head, I did my best to feel and see more than the enormity of the pieces on display. I found myself observing and somewhat understanding the message that these Earth ambassadors have to share with us all. We live on a planet that is essentially a miracle, and it's our job to maintain it for all sentient beings, including future generations of humans.