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The 1937 Paris International Exposition: Documents

SovietPaviPho1

The following documents are intended to be viewed and read in conjunction with my piece ‘Art and Architecture Towards Political Crises: The 1937 Paris International Exposition in Context’. They consist of pictures and videos documenting the Paris exposition; images of prominent artworks connected to and on displayĀ during the exposition, including art by Pablo Picasso,Ā Fernand LĆ©ger, Raoul Dufy, Joan MirĆ³, and Alexander Calder; and exposition memorabilia, in the way of posters, ticket stubs, and maps. There are architectural images, details, and drawings related to the exposition; and pictures and plans depicting the course of those grandiose architectural projects devised through the 1930s by Boris Iofan and Albert Speer – the chief architects, respectively, of Stalin’s Soviet Union and Hitler’s Nazi Germany. More, I have included Paul Ɖluard’s 1938 poem ‘La Victoire de Guernica’ (‘The Victory of Guernica’); and Alain Resnais’s 1950 film short, Guernica.

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ParisExposition1937Open
The opening of the 1937 Paris International Exposition
The_Trocadero,_Exposition_Universal,_1900,_Paris,_France
The old Palais du TrocadƩro
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Pablo Picasso – Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
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French poster advertising the exposition
Exposition internationale de 1937
Entry ticket for the international exposition
Paris1937-3
Official guide book for the exposition, costing 3 francs
expo-1937-map-paris
A map of the exposition
84.1.5 REVERSE
Commemorative coin, with the full title of the exposition
ParisAir
The exposition’s Palais de l’Air. Audoul, Hartwig, and GĆ©rodias were the architects, while Delaunay and Aublet designed the interior.
transport-forces-1937
Fernand LĆ©ger – Le transport des forces
raouldufy4
Raoul Dufy – La FĆ©e ElectricitĆ©
pleasure_tower
Illustration, with details, of the proposed Phare du Monde
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The pavilions in the context of the Jardins du TrocadƩro, with the Palais de Chaillot in the background
joan_miro_the_reaper_photograph (1)
Joan MirĆ³ working on The Reaper
miro-calder-mercury-fountain
Alexander Calder’s Mercury Fountain, now in the FundaciĆ³ MirĆ³ in Barcelona
1007px-OldMoscow_archive_img07_Christ_Saviour_Cathedral
The original Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, which was consecrated in 1883 and demolished in 1931
KMO_128025_01980_1_t210_193847
The demolition of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 1931, in preparation for the Palace of the Soviets
PalaceSoviets1
Illustration for the proposed Palace of the Soviets, comparing its height with built landmarks
The open-air swimming pool – for a time, the largest in the world – which in 1958 took over the site of the unfinished Palace of the Soviets
The new Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, consecrated in 2000
mosfilm
The current logo of the Russian film studio Mosfilm
U_39_134059283733_1275779879_841Soviet_Union_expo_Paris_1937_Mukhina_Worker_and_Kolkhoz_Woman
Coloured illustration of the Soviet pavilion
1313333-Exposition_internationale_Paris_1937
The Soviet pavilion at night
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Soviet pavilion base and relief
SovietRussToday37 1
October, 1937 issue of Soviet Russia Today, featuring Frank Lloyd Wright’s article ‘Architecture and Life in the USSR’
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The Nazi party rally grounds at Nuremberg
Lichtverschmutzung-Nuernberg-Reichsparteitag-Lichtdom
The Cathedral of Light at Nuremberg: 130 anti-aircraft searchlights shone into the night sky
The Olympiastadion in Berlin, 1936
Speer_German_Pavilion_1937
Nazi Germany’s pavilion lit at night
Detail of the German pavilion’s eagle
German pavilion interior
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The sickle from Worker and Kolkhoz Woman preparing to be hoisted into place
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Worker and Kolkhoz Woman
The Marble Gallery of the New Reich Chancellery
Speer’s design for the interior of the proposed Volkshalle
The proposed Prachtstrasse for Berlin, with Triumphbogen and Volkshalle

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‘La Victoire de Guernica’
Ā 
I
Ā 
Beau monde des masures
De la nuit et des champs
Ā 
II
Ā 
Visages bons au feu visages bons au fond
Aux refus Ć  la nuit aux injures aux coups
Ā 
III
Ā 
Visages bons Ć  tout
Voici le vide qui vous fixe
Votre mort va servir d’exemple
Ā 
IV
Ā 
La mort coeur renversƩ
Ā 
V
Ā 
Ils vous ont fait payer le pain
Le ciel la terre l’eau le sommeil
Et la misĆØre
De votre vie
Ā 
VI
Ā 
Ils disaient dƩsirer la bonne intelligence
Ils rationnaient les forts jugeaient les fous
Faisaient l’aumĆ“ne partageaient un sou en deux
Ils saluaient les cadavres
Ils s’accablaient de politesses
Ā 
VII
Ā 
Ils persĆ©vĆØrent ils exagĆØrent ils ne sont pas de notre monde
Ā 
VIII
Ā 
Les femmes les enfants ont le mĆŖme trĆ©sor
De feuilles vertes de printemps et de lait pur
Et de durƩe
Dans leurs yeux purs
Ā 
IX
Ā 
Les femmes les enfants ont le mĆŖme trĆ©sor
Dans les yeux
Les hommes le dƩfendent comme ils peuvent
Ā 
X
Ā 
Les femmes les enfants ont les mĆŖmes roses rouges
Dans les yeux
Chacun montre son sang
Ā 
XI
Ā 
La peur et le courage de vivre et de mourir
La mort si difficile et si facile
Ā 
XII
Ā 
Hommes pour qui ce trƩsor fut chantƩ
Hommes pour qui ce trĆ©sor fut gĆ¢chĆ©
Ā 
XIII
Ā 
Hommes rƩels pour qui le dƩsespoir
Alimente le feu dĆ©vorant de l’espoir
Ouvrons ensemble le dernier bourgeon de l’avenir
Ā 
XIV
Ā 
Parias la mort la terre et la hideur
De nos ennemis ont la couleur
Monotone de notre nuit
Nous en aurons raison.
Ā 
(Paul Ɖluard, Cours Naturel, 1938)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_da3eciNlpE

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Christopher Laws
Christopher Lawshttps://www.culturedarm.com
Christopher Laws is the writer and editor of Culturedarm, currently based in UmeƄ, Sweden.

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