"Inventing the Modern World" and rediscovering the old one.

Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851–1939

From the official website:

<<This groundbreaking exhibition explores the ingenuity and craftsmanship of decorative arts made for world’s fairs, from London’s Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in 1851, to the New York World’s Fair in 1939>>

When I first saw that the CMOA was guesting an exhibition about past World's Fairs, I hardly believed to what I was reading; I left Italy and Milan while the city was (almost) getting ready for our EXPO  - a kind current equivalent (in term of global visibility) of the old World's Fairs. Milano should be ready in 2015, but we are still not in great shape, with a lot of chaos around the project.

Before talking about the CMOA's exhibit, I would like to briefly introduce you what's going on in my city.

Milan's EXPO has a very noble and interesting theme: feeding the planet. Not an easy task, you could say, but you know... Italy: Small country that thinks bigger and then keeps the promises only thanks to our even bigger creativity. 

I know that we'll be ready for 2015, but we'll get there in a dramatic way, as usual.

find out more about the masterplan

At the Carniegie, though, the focus is on the Fairs that used to present the world the most innovative industrial production. The theme, in this case, is just the Industry. CMOA is displaying a number of interesting and precious objects. The exhibition is well organized and interesting: room after room, you'll see the evolution of the industry production according to the taste. And believe me: what a taste! 

English designer. Paris 1867

Image from http://web.cmoa.org/ITMW/gallery.html

  The first World's Fairs used to present the most innovative production in terms of technology, furniture, supplies  for the house, fabrics but also new materials. While visiting, you'll be able to see reproductions or originals of drawings showing the overall organization of the fairs, by stands (by country). And then you'll see superb objects hyper-decorated, coming from a variety of countries. The piece I liked most were the few coming from Japan. The artesans were asked to give them a Japanese look but with Western shapes or treats. The result is elegant, despite the Western requests (I apologize for being a bit cynical, but I'm a fan of traditional Japan).
I must also give the right space to some French silk fabrics - really masterpieces-  as well as to some ceramics by Gio Ponti (Italian architect and designer, that did the Pirelli skyscraper in Milan). But once there, you'll see also very powerful original pieces from the US, with an astonishing accumulation of details. These were great attempts to "go international". I would read here the first "WWW". 

American designer. Philadelphia, 1876

Image from http://web.cmoa.org/ITMW/gallery.html

My personal pick is the last room, a little more contemporary. I couldn't prevent myself from taking at least these two pictures, about a glazed table with armchairs and glazed radiator, simply elegant and everlasting. But maybe not exactly comfortable. Doesn't matter: when it comes to be cool, forget about it. This is true now and in the Thirties. 

 Here you see the little radiator, on the left, and the table on the right.

The background is a picture of the complete environment.

American designer,  New York 1939.

The chair: my photo and the one from the catalogue.

Image on the right from http://web.cmoa.org/ITMW/gallery.html

The last two pieces that really got all my attention are kind of posters called the Panels of Progress, presented at the Chicago fair of 1933. From the official caption: <<Radio Broadcasting Panel - The Panels of Progress, part of Westinghouse’s display at the 1933 Chicago fair, used innovative materials to promote the company’s products of mass communication and electrification. Each panel was made of Micarta—a new laminate composed of canvas, paper, and Fiberglas—with designs in aluminum and steel, materials that resonate in Pittsburgh. Shown at A Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, 1933>>

American Designer. Chicago 1933

Image from http://web.cmoa.org/ITMW/gallery.html

American designer. Chicago, 1933

Image from http://web.cmoa.org/ITMW/gallery.html

Current World Fairs are pretty different from those in the past. They are called EXPO and they present themes that affect the current society and have a worldwide impact. 

Exhibitions like the old Fairs are still organized, but are fragmented in a myriad of events. Each industrial sector has its own fair: Design, Fashion, Construction, Vehicles, Food, Technology, Computers...

This fragmentation became necessary as we started mass production in such a powerful way that it was impossible to keep everything "under the same roof". Current Fairs seems to be very impactive at first, but then they risk of disappearing in the swirl of necessary renovation and updating process (that supports the hyper production of goods).

On the other side, current EXPOs try to fix a lot of problems (2010 Shanghai's theme was "Better cities, better lifes") but the risk, in this case, is to create just incredible "cultural Disneylands" very attractive but not effective.

The old World's Fair, by the way, were really inventing the modern world. And now we can learn from them how the past world and society were. They can easily be considered milestones, precious treasures for our knowledge.