Topic-

International Expositions and development of architecture

Akshat Bansal

Sushant school of art and architecture

April, 2014

Effect of Expositions

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the influential role of architectural exhibitions in the development of

debates on architecture. Both the exhibitions and the accompanying publications such as catalogues,

books and magazines play a significant role in shaping and directing architectural discourses. Among the

worth mentioning expositions in the past, some expositions has really brought a change in the

architectural style with time to time.

Columbian Exposition 1893, Chicago

The Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 transformed architecture. Historically, world fairs

functioned to illuminate grand architecture, art, and new inventions. Prior to the Chicago World's Fair,

the United States had contributed to the exhibitions held in London and Paris but had yet to

demonstrate its "technology and cultural prowess" to its European counterparts.

The City Beautiful Movement

The City Beautiful movement emerged in response to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The

movement was characterized by the classical architecture and landscape designs seen at the fair. Once

visitors returned to their cities, and saw an unorganized and gritty urban landscape in comparison to the

‘white city,’ they realized that it was essential for the public welfare to beautify the city. This led to

massive public building projects and the erection of war monuments in many American cities including

St. Louis, Detroit, and Washington, D.C.

In New York City, the urban infrastructure was a chaotic mess, compounded by an influx of immigrants

who lived in poor tenement houses and worked in factories. Nonetheless, the city government lacked

legislative control over aesthetic elements of the city. Accordingly, the movement led to the creation of

numerous art societies seeking to obtain legislative means for aesthetic regulation in the city. This idea

eventually led to the preservation of historic structures for the public good with the passage of the Bard

Act and the New York City Landmarks Law.

Municipal Art Society

Upon returning home from Chicago after the World’s Fair, prominent New York artists and visitors

realized the potential for New York to gleam as a beacon for the arts and urban design. On a more

fundamental level, artists took with them the idea that art was not just for the elite, but was to be

shared with the public. These artists, including William Vanderbilt Allen and Evageline Blashfield decided

to form the Municipal Art Society. Their mission was to promote the idea that public art was for the

benefit of the public and promoted an enhanced state of being.

After the success of Chicago exposition more and more international level expositions began to happen.

The Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900

In 1900, the world witnessed a grand display of Art Nouveau style of architecture at Paris’s Exposition

Universelle. The architecture and design of this World's Fair brought the wonderful Art Nouveau

style into popular culture. The fair was a huge success with over fifty million people visiting it. Art

Nouveau got recognized at world level and was much demand till 191

The Pavilion of Turkey, Paris. The Paris Exposition, Paris

(https://archive.org/stream/larchitecturel00expo#) ( https://archive.org/stream/larchitecturel00expo#)

Labelle epoque,Paris. ( http://www.ecribouille.net/photo-du-jour) Palais des nations, Paris(http://www.ecribouille.net)

Exposition poster, Paris (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/the-1925-paris-exhibition/)

The exposition international of decorative arts and industries,

Paris 1925

The international exposition of decorative arts and industries 1925 is considered to be the most

important and significant start to Art Deco. Officially entitled the Exposition Internationale des Arts

Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, it was dedicated to the display of modern decorative arts. The

exhibition brought together thousands of designs from all over Europe and beyond. With over 16 million

visitors, it marked the high point of the first phase of Art Deco.

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in November of 1922 spawned a worldwide fascination with all

things Egyptian. It influenced everything from architecture to jewellery.

Ziggurat, (http://www.kingsacademy.com/mhodges/05_World-Cultures)

Art deco architecture between 1925 and 1931.

Art deco Building,New York City(http://vintelegance.blogspot.com) Chrysler Building,New York City(vintelegance.blogst.com)

Art Deco,New York City.( http://www.vam.ac.uk/) Art Deco building (http;//www.vam.ac.uk/deco#)

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE AT MoMA,

New York, 1932

The concept for the exhibition was developed by the director of MoMA, Alfred Barr who asked Henry

Russell Hitchcock, the great historian of modern art and architecture, and Philip Johnson, the architect

known as the curator of the exhibition, to organize the first architectural exhibition at MoMA. By means

of the exhibition and the accompanying publications, the architecture of the early 20th century is

officially announced and labeled as the “International Style.”

The show ran for six years in America, displaying European modern architecture to American public. It

proved the fact that early Modern Architecture, especially in Europe, had some qualities in common that

announced the existence of an emerging global style.

In a similar way, Johnson codified and “popularized” the emerging architecture in 1980s as

“Deconstructivist Architecture.” It should be noted that the terms “international style” and

“deconstruction” in architecture are institutionalized, officially recognized after these exhibitions at

MoMA. Whether it is devoted to an individual architect or a movement, exhibitions provide an

operational and productive context, which gives the architectural work a new meaning, situates it in the

culture of architecture, and promotes it commercially and popularized it.

it is called “International.” In the preface, Barr claims, For “Modern Architecture: International

Exhibition,” the purpose is to announce the birth of a new emerging style. The principles of the new

style were sought in the works of certain distinguished individuals. The works of these architects

immediately gained a new meaning as the representative of modern architecture, and took place in the

exhibition book, which describes the norms and standards of the International Style. By exposing the

three principles on structure and design that controlled the architecture since the beginning of the 20th

century, the authors created a “dominant and global style” in architecture, and titled it “International

Style.” The exhibition as a significant event, in which design principles of the new emerging architecture

were revealed, and a new architectural “style” was identified, put the objects to a process of

reproduction.

Bibliography

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2. Tabibi,Barahak. Modern architecture:international expositions,. london : Laurence King, 1996.

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3. Syphawang Bay. ecribouille.net -l'exposition universalle. [Online] 1992-2014.

http://www.ecribouille.net/photo-du-jour/lexposition-universelle-a-paris-de-lan-1900-en-couleurs/