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Copyright: Generalkatalog, Paris 1937, S. 3

From the opening speech by the Minister of Trade Fernand Chapsal:

"The 1937 World Exposition has brought together the flags of over 40 nations to the banks of the Seine. This is the most important fact. This aspect of international collaboration gives it meaning and significance. It is an undertaking which represents countries not only via their people but also by their performance. And one should understand this word in its grandest and widest sense.

France's decision to hold this major event in insecure and difficult times demonstrates faith in its fate and the future of peace. And by taking up the invitation, the peoples of the world have demonstrated their solidarity with this faith and that they also intend to direct their efforts to the same objective. The World Exposition will have fallen short of its goal if it were merely a spectacle - whatever its brilliance. It must be a meeting place for the comparison of experience and achievements, where their accomplishments give people reason for moving closer together, to understand one another better, at the same time as finding the best benchmark for their own talents. This is a milestone of progress and a starting point for common achievement."

Source: Exposition internationale des arts et des techniques dans la vie moderne. Official general catalogue. Paris 1937, Vol. 1.



An artist’s critique: Amedée Ozenfant

"1937 is the time at which all forces have been brought together resulting in partial neutralisation - a dominant style, without thorns, blossoms and thrives. An exceptional style, e.g. the Swiss Pavilion with its clear, structural proportions; of praiseworthy architectural forms because their spaciousness leaves one room to breathe; then the Austrian Pavilion, etc... The most innovative engineering solutions are perhaps found among the timber constructions - primarily those of Japan and Finland. Because engineers and architects play with steel with unforced audacity - proof of their perfect understanding of the limits of the possible - they are properly rewarded by the elegance of all of the extreme solutions. The architects and engineers working with timber and iron achieve the mastery of their Gothic forebears in supporting the triumph of light over matter such as in the Sainte Chapelle."

Source: Amedée Ozenfant. Notes d'un touriste á l'exposition. In: Cahiers d'art, Vol. 12. 1937. p.243.


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The Paris World Exposition 1937
 
Year: 1937City: ParisCountry: France
Duration: 25th May - 25th November 1937

 

 

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