©The Moravian Gallery, Brno

Unknown artist, "Grand Prix of Expo 58" (1958). Poster, 31½ x 22 in.

   November 2008 Field Guide

William Eggleston

Anton Kannemeyer

Lynne Marsh

Frances Stark

Donald Rodney

Oranges and Sardines

Renzo Martens

Dóra Maurer

Munio Weinraub and Amos Gitai

Sharon Lockhart

Stephan Balkenhol

Terence Gower

Jacques Bedel

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As “The Brussels Dream: Czechoslovakian Presence at Expo ’58” makes clear, expectations were high for the 1958 world’s fair. Economies were growing, Stalin was gone, Sputnik 1 had been launched a year before, and the development of science, atomic energy, and robotics lent the times a thrilling air of possibility. When the Expo’s dark horse, the Czechoslovakian pavilion, ended up winning first prize, it was a high point for a beleaguered nation. Derived from the sleek and formally harmonious advances made by Czech designers, artists, and architects in the short span of freedom before the nation’s invasion by Germany and then domination by the Soviets, the amber-hued pavilion displayed a dazzling array of furniture, plastics, textiles, industrial products, and remarkable designs from a burgeoning glass industry. Perhaps most striking was the Magic Lantern theater, a multimedia experience of live theater, projected films, pantomime, singing, dance, and music, hailed at the expo as a “miracle.” Photos and videos of the Czech exhibits, as well as original objects, will be displayed here, contextualized by a sharp historical analysis of the irony involved: many of the objects and events presented in Brussels wouldn’t have been allowed to be displayed in Czechoslovakia itself under Soviet Communism.

"The Brussels Dream" originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Modern Painters. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Modern Painters' November 2008 Table of Contents.