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The summers of 1948 and 1949 were particularly important as Buckminster Fuller came to teach and to erect his first large-scale geodesic dome . In his lectures , Fuller sought to apply his principles of design to everything from atom to the cosmos . His basic approach was to apply both scientific knowledge and creativity to think "outside the box" and to see the entire world as one interdependent system . His foremost concern was to find ways " to do more with less" and use resources to serve humanity . However , it is important to emphasize that Black Mountain College was not an art school , but a liberal arts college with a radical vision . John Andrew Rice , BMC's founder , believed that the practice of the arts by all students was a central part of the educational experience ; that art was the most important way to develop creativity , selfexpression and self-discipline , the best way to develop one ' s mind and personality . He believed that the human mind has more than one mode , that it has an " ecology " of being ; that imagination , intuition and inspiration are basic to psyche , that imagination is fundamental to all learning , that artistic making is a model of integrating vision , materials , structure , and imagery . At BMC students were free , and in fact , were expected to make their own choices , invent their own lives and take responsibility for their lives , and that meant few rules , no required courses , no set schedule of examinations , no formal grades . At the beginning of each term , students would sit in on classes to decide which they wished to take . They were expected not to compete with others but to aspire to their own maximum potential . Teachers , too , were largely free to choose the courses they would like to teach . At the same time , the college was extremely demanding , expecting high achievements , originality , and open thinking . "If you didn ' t bring something new , a new idea or a new piece of work to every class , you just didn ' t want to show up , " one student wrote . Students had to take difficult oral and written exams to pass on to the senior level , and to graduate they had to pass a rigorous set of exams . No wonder that few students actually graduated , but an extraordinary large number of them went on to make major contributions as artists , architects , dancers , musicians , writers , teachers and thinkers that determined the course of 20 th century art . Six years after Joseph Albers left BMC to head the design department at Yale University , BMC closed down due to financial difficulties . What remains today is the BMC Museum and Arts Center , and its rich and extensive archive , run by Mary Emma Harris , author of The Arts at Black Mountain College . Currently it runs two major exhibitions : "Thinking Ahead : Progressive Design + BMC" ( until 30 Dec . 2006 ) and "Ideas + Inventions , " exploring the works of Buckminster Fuller and BMC ( until Jan . 2007 ) . In conclusion : Theories are great , and the BMC philosophy of education in particular . But even great theories require talented , dedicated , visionary and creative teachers to make the theories work . BMC had a rare and unbelievable concentration of them . ? Laszlo Moholy-Nagy , Nuclear II , 1946 , oil on canvas © Milwaukee Art Museum , Gift of Kenneth Parker Josef Albers , Study for Homage to the Square : Light Rising , 1950 , oil on Masonite National Gallery of Art , Washington , Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection Photo : Rob Grove
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