When you see this images, what do you think of? The future, the world of tomorrow. Unimaginable architecture and works of engineering we dream existed. Flying cars maybe virtual people. What if there where a place that we could just see all this happen, where the world would get together, just to show you a glimpse of what it will be like. Well in 1939, the people of the world got a glimpse of what our time will be like.
Lets go back 10 years before, 1929. Three New York socialites, Lilie P Bliss, Abby Rockefeller, Mary Quinn Sullivan talked and decided to bring their passion for modern art to a whole new level. They wanted to create a permanent gallery for modern art, a museum. They sat down and grabbed coffee with the man that would make it happen, A Conger Goodyear. He later became president of the museum and appointed, Alfred H. Barr, an art history teacher from Wellesley College where he taught the first ever course on Modern art, as director of the museum. As the founding trustees would say “Our ultimate purpose is to establish a permanent public museum in the city which will acquire, from time to time, collections of the best modern works of art”.
What was the World’s Fair? The world’s fairs still are expositions where countries from all around the world gather in one place, to promote innovation, commerce or the best thing each country can offer, depending on the theme of the fair. The name, World’s Fair came from the 1851 Great Exhibition in London England. This was the first time so many countries got together in one place. Henry Cole and Prince Albert built a massive glass structure, the equivalent of a convention center for our time, called the Crystal Palace just for the occasion. Over 6 million people from around...
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...oday and the other at the Art in Out Time Exhibition, respectively.
The fair was educating, entertaining and at the same time profitable. Doing so by bringing corporations to participate and have their own pavilions showing their new and advanced technology. The Museum of Modern Art, like the rest of the world was also heavily influenced by the fair. It started to incorporate more and more interactive displays, sometimes even including objects that could be bought by corporations outside of the museum like in the Useful Objects of American Design under $10.00 exhibition in 1939 or the one in 1942. The Machine Art: Modern Interiors exhibition in 1940, and many more that where yet to come. The Museum of Modern Art remains till today one of the most innovating institutions, its like the mini World’s Fairs experience most of us never got to experience in one building.
The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 changed America in enormous ways. Probably the most prominent being that it directly changed America's and the world's perception of America and our capabilities. Not only was it the first in America, but the Chicago World's Fair propelled America...
New York City is known for its extensive collection of art museums ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art which is usually the most renowned to others such as the the Solomon R. Guggenheim or the Whitney Museum of American Art which are popular in their own rights. This abundance of art museums makes the city very attractive for foreign visitors. However, this abundance of choice can overwhelm even the most informed visitors who have a finite amount of time to explore what the city has to offer. Although all of the above mentioned museums have great collections of their own, the often unheralded Frick Collections might trump them all in terms of exceptional works which include some of the world's most celebrated Western artists, such as Goya, Manet, Monet, Rembrandt, and Renoir.
The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 was the turning point between old Victorian, provential, and backwater ways in the US, and the modern outlook and culture we enjoy today. It was built on a scale that had never been seen before. It provided technological wonders, new cultures, and a look into a brighter future. It helped to take the US from being a backwater, second rate power to a world super power. It was progressive in the labor and safety movements. In short, it was a major turning point in American history.
In 1893 a world fair was held in Chicago Illinois to celebrate the 4thcentenniel of Columbus discovering the Americas. The exposition displayed grand buildings with beautiful architecture, hundreds of exhibits ranging from exotic tribes of Africa, to new inventions, expertly constructed landscape, and astounding attractions such as the first Ferris wheel. The fair lasted for six months and had over 27 million visitors, including ¼ of the American population.
The “White City” was a vast collection of architecture and arts that were put on display in the year 1893. The Chicago World Fair, also called the “White City”, was a major event in American history that impacted America’s culture, economic, and industry. The Chicago World Fair was held to honor Columbus’ discovery of the New World. The real reason why it was made was to proudly have back their wealth and power. Larson said, “the tower not only assured the eternal fame of its designer, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel but also offered graphic proof that France had edged out the United States for dominance in the realm of iron and steel…”(15). To accomplish this, architects led by Daniel Burnham and John Root made numerous buildings and beautiful scenery
In 1939, the city of San Francisco hosted an international exhibition, named the Golden Gate Fair in honor of the construction by the city of the world's two largest suspension bridges, the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland, which spanned the San Francisco Bay. With all the skill that could be mustered by American engineers, an island was constructed amidst the Pacific waters, becoming the largest ever manmade island. Christened Treasure Island, this would be the location of the 1939 Exhibition. The visions of a fair surrounded by the glory of the Pacific Ocean had finally materialized. However, this captivating scene took place as Europe verged on the edge of disaster. Germany had already begun its annexation of neighboring countries and threatened to unleash conflict on a global level. In only two short years the United States would be fully involved in this catastrophe. Furthermore, at the time of the fair the United States had just emerged from the Great Depression, which had affected the country in many ways. This fair seemed to provide a brief interlude between these two very difficult times in American history. For this event the U.S. decided to turn attention away from the international climate and focus on the beauty of the Pacific, which ironically is named for peace.
A line of carriages carries important people, including President Grover Cleveland and Daniel Burnham, to the fair at Jackson Park. President Cleveland speaks at a ceremony signifying the much-anticipated opening of the exposition. The general consensus among the crowd is that the fair is a success, despite the mud-covered walkways and roads, unfinished landscaping, and unfinished Ferris wheel. Attendance registers between 500,000 and 600,000 people. However, the cause for celebration doesn't last long. Day two of the fair reels in roughly 10,000 people. Through the days to come after the fair had officially opened, many banks are forced to close and the stock market crashes. Burnham and his brigade of architects, draftsmen, engineers, and contractors had accomplished so much in an impossibly short time, but apparently not enough to overcome the damping effect of the fast-degrading economy. Many aspects of the fair were still unfinished including the elevators, the Ferris wheel being half finished, and roadways were still submerged under mud. “First and foremost, Burnham knew, the fair had to be finished, but in the meantime lures had to be cast to encourage people to shed their fears of financial ruin and come to Chicago” (page, 241). Burnham appointed Frank Millet to come up with new ideas on getting greater attendance at the fair. Millet implemented things such as fireworks, shows and parades. Millet even dedicated specific days
When the first major international exhibition of arts and industries was held in London in 1851, the London Crystal Palace epitomized the achievements of the entire world at a time when progress was racing forward at a speed never before known to mankind. The Great Exhibition marked the beginning of a tradition of world's fairs, which would be held in major cities all across the globe. Following the success of the London fair, it was inevitable that other nations would soon try their hand at organizing their own exhibitions. In fact, the next international fair was held only two years later, in 1853, in New York City. This fair would have its own Crystal Palace to symbolize not only the achievements of the world, but also the nationalistic pride of a relatively young nation and all that she stood for. Walt Whitman, the great American poet, wrote in "The Song of the Exposition":
...nt the most advanced aspect of the Fair, was the lightest of all, painted near white. This method of "metaphorical planning" inspired several later cities to utilize similar techniques in their fairs, such the "Mediterranean" architecture scheme of the 1915 San Diego Exposition and the utilitarian coloring of the 1933 Chicago Fair.
“When people arrived in the morning on the 17th there was a display of horses, cattle and farm products” (Drury 807). “The first Montgomery County Agricultural Fair was held in Dayton at Swaynie’s Hotel on East First Street October 17th and 18th, 1839” (Drury 807). 1853, the state fair was held on Washington Street, the same year the county fair was held there (Drury 807) then in 1874, “the Southern Ohio Fair Association began having fairs on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds for fifteen years” (Drury 808). This set the stepping stone for many fairs in the years in counting. When individuals see the Montgomery County Fairgrounds today, it is seen as just being a place where random fairs or talent shows are held at. Not knowing its history, one could be right. Much has changed on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds; from its architecture to the people that now visit it.
The “superstar” museum gained this status by considering every important detail during its establishment and initial phases of conversion from royal palace to museum (Gombault, 2002). As the purpose of the building changed, each room addressed new functions with new requirements. Although the function of the Louvre is different from the building’s original intention, the building is still appears dignified and important enough to display priceless artifacts and painting (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). This consideration was applied in designing the Met. The Met looked towards the South Kensington Museum (Victoria and Albert) and the “ideal role model” due to its extensive collections and international reputation (Heckscher, 1995). The Met found itself in a similar situation to the South Kensington, because it did not have a building or a collection to start with (Heckscher, 1995). When designing museums, architects strived to create monuments that “prepare and educate the mind of the visitor (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998).” Education is an essential function of a museum. Acquiring, preserving, and properly displaying materials, permits a museum to fulfill this duty (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). For instance, lighting is a factor that affects the manner in which artwork is viewed and can be properly appreciated. When determining the proper lighting for the Louvre, Comte d’Angiviller, strongly believed that natural, overhead lighting was the most effective solution (McClellan, 1994, p. 72). The same determination impacted the decision to add skylights at the Met. During the initial phase, architects Vaux and Mould, added skylights to the upper floor, and windows to the lower floor that provided a natural light solution (Heckscher, 1995). Additionally, glass-roofed courtyards provided “unimpeded light” for displaying
One pleasant afternoon, my classmates and I decided to visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to begin on our museum assignment in world literature class. According to Houston Museum of Fine Art’s staff, MFAH considers as one of the largest museums in the nation and it contains many variety forms of art with more than several thousand years of unique history. Also, I have never been in a museum in a very long time especially as big as MFAH, and my experience about the museum was unique and pleasant. Although I have observed many great types and forms of art in the museum, there were few that interested me the most.
Modern art serves to immerse us more thoroughly in a scene by touching on more than just our sight. Artists such as Grosz, and Duchamp try to get us to feel instead of just see. It seems that this concept has come about largely as a way to regain identity after shedding the concepts of the Enlightenment. “Philosophers, writers, and artists expressed disillusionment with the rational-humanist tradition of the Enlightenment. They no longer shared the Enlightenment's confidence in either reason's capabilities or human goodness...” (Perry, pg. 457) It is interesting to follow art through history and see how the general mood of society changed with various aspects of history, and how events have a strong connection to the art of the corresponding time.
Of course, there are the classic reasons for going to the Fair: the dozens of rides and attractions along the mile-long midway; the incredible variety of food and drink available; the many hands-on livestock exhibits; the opportunity to make hundreds of little goldfish paranoid by hurling plastic projectiles into their bowls; and, of course, the wide variety of special events. If you've been to the Fair before and are reading this article anyway, you may as well keep reading to see what's new.
The Chicago world’s fair’s official name was the World’s Columbian Exposition, and its original purpose was to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America, however Daniel Hudson Burnham, the foremost creator, wanted it to be something enchanting, a “white city .” While Burnham wanted the fair to be a “white city” the whole fair had to be greater in all aspects than the fair in Paris in 1889, because if the fair failed the honor of the United States would be stained, and the city of Chicago would be disgraced . Burnham wanted only the best American architects of the time and their plans for the buildings were fashioned after neoclassical ideas, they had a uniform height for the cornice, in hopes of creating harmony amongst the prominent buildings .