Exhibitions Beyond Boundaries: Transnational Exchanges through Art, Architecture, and Design 1945–1985

Description

After the end of World War II, museum and gallery exhibitions, industrial and trade fairs, biennials, triennials, festivals and world’s fairs all came increasingly to be used as locations for the exercise of ‘soft power’, for displays of cultural diplomacy between nations and as spaces for addressing areas of social and political contestation. This book reflects on approaches to the study of exhibitions within and beyond the disciplinary boundaries of art and design history. It also explores the wider networks and relationships that are engendered through exhibitions. Exhibitions Beyond Boundaries traces relations across a wide set of geographies: Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific and the USA. It draws on a range of methodologies and interdisciplinary perspectives principally from art and design history but also from social, economic and political history and museum studies. Featured case studies include explorations of the life and work of Misha Black, Belgo-American exchanges during the Cold War, Israel’s appearance at the 1948-1952 Venice Biennale and the Vatican Pavilion at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. This book’s impressively global scope is in line with its outward-looking subject matter and its international line up of contributors further underlines this. Cover Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS FOREWORD NOTES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS EXHIBITIONS BEYOND BOUNDARIES: AN INTRODUCTION ORIGINS AND FRAMEWORKS SITUATING EXHIBITIONS AND TRANSNATIONALISM RECONFIGURING GEOGRAPHIES NEGOTIATING IDENTITIES WHY 1945 TO 1985? NETWORKS AND AGENTS THE AFTERLIFE OF EXHIBITIONS THE CHAPTERS THE FUTURE OF TRANSNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS? NOTES 1 UNIVERSAL CIVILIZATION AND NATIONAL CULTURES: PRODUCING ISRAEL AT THE VENICE BIENNALE, 1948–1952 (EUROPEAN) UNIVERSALISM A STATE IN PROGRESS A STATE OF PROGRESS NATIONALIZING THE VERNACULAR CLEANING UP THE CANON A NATIONAL MODERNISM? NOTES 2 SALVAGING THROUGH MERCHANDISING: AMERICA’S VIETNAMESE CRAFT DIPLOMACY ON DISPLAY IN THE US IN 1956 AND 1958 THE STATE DEPARTMENT, RUSSEL WRIGHT AND CRAFT DIPLOMACY THE GEOPOLITICS OF US INTERESTS SOUTHEAST ASIA REHABILITATION AND TRADE DEVELOPMENT SURVEY EXHIBITION, 1956 UNITED STATES WORLD TRADE FAIR, 1958 FAILURES IN US CRAFT DIPLOMACY WITH SOUTH VIETNAM NOTES 3 “A SLIGHTLY EXOTIC COUNTRY”: POLAND’S CONTENTIOUS DEBUT AT THE 11TH MILAN TRIENNALE, 1957 THE POST-THAW TRIENNALE “CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES OF THE HISTORIC ARTS” VERNACULAR DESIGNS OR “FURNITURE FOR MODERN NEANDERTHALS”? PRAISE FOR ORIGINALITY APPLAUSE AND CRITICISM AT HOME SHIFTING VISIONS NOTES 4 SELF-MANAGEMENT ON DISPLAY: NEGOTIATING THE VISIONS OF YUGOSLAV SOCIALIST MODERNITY AT EXPO 58 AND PORODICA I DOMAC´INSTVO EXHIBITIONS DEFINING SELF-MANAGEMENT YUGOSLAV PAVILION AT EXPO 58: SELF-MANAGEMENT AS RHETORIC THE FORM OF SELF-MANAGEMENT PORODICA I DOMA C´ INSTVO: SELF-MANAGEMENT AS MODERN DOMESTICITY SELF-MANAGEMENT BETWEEN CONSUMPTION AND IDEOLOGY NOTES 5 “ONE OF THE PUZZLES OF THE EXHIBITION”: A MISUNDERSTOOD CITTADINA, NEOLIBERTY, AND THE ITALIAN DISPLAY AT BRUSSELS EXPO 58 POSTWAR TRANSNATIONAL MODERN STYLE AND ITALIAN AMBIGUITY COERENZA (COHERENCE) AND CONTINUITÀ (CONTINUITY): THE ORIGINS OF THE CITTADINA “INFANTILE REGRESSION?” INSULTED ITALIANS AND AGITATED PROFESSIONALS AN EVEN MORE MODEST PRESENCE: THE INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITTADINA A NEW EXHIBITION SCENARIO: LAST MINUTE INPUT BUILDING ON LONG STANDING EXPERTISE A VICTORY OVER TRANSNATIONAL MODERNISM OR A RETREAT FROM THE CONTEMPORARY DEBATE? NOTES 6 ASSEMBLING SMALLNESS: THE UNITED STATES SMALL INDUSTRIES EXHIBITION IN COLOMBO, 1961 A CENTURY OF LANKAN-US RELATIONS NEGOTIATING DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN COMPETING IDEOLOGIES FROM PEOPLE’S CAPITALISM TO THE POWER OF SMALL INDUSTRIES DESIGNING THE EXHIBITION EXPERIENCE INTERFACING THE LOCAL FAMILIAR WITH THE FOREIGN UNKNOWN COMPETING VISIONS OF SMALLNESS AN ASSEMBLAGE OF SMALLNESS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES 7 PAINTING FROM THE PACIFIC AND ARTISTIC EXCHANGE ACROSS THE PACIFIC, 1961 PAINTING FROM THE PACIFIC AS TRANSNATIONAL EXHIBITION NEW ZEALAND’S SHIFTING GEOPOLITICAL RELATIONS NEW ZEALAND’S POSTWAR CULTURAL EXPANSIONS THE CONTENTS OF PAINTING FROM THE PACIFIC PAINTING FROM THE PACIFIC: CREATING TRANSNATIONAL NETWORKS A “SYMPATHETIC LINK”: REGIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS PAINTING FROM THE PACIFIC: DEVELOPMENT AND DISPLAY A CONFLUENCE OF CIRCUMSTANCE NOTES 8 “A WHOLLY AMERICAN PLASTIC PACKAGE”: TRANSNATIONALISM, TECHNOLOGY, AND THEOLOGY AT THE VATICAN PAVILION IN THE 1964–1965 NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR SETTING THE STAGE THE AMERICAN PLASTIC PACKAGE THE BUILDING THE NEW LITURGY PACEM IN TERRIS JO MIELZINER STAGES THE PIETA REACTIONS FAITH IN THE SPACE AGE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES 9 “THE GENTLE ART OF COOKERY”: EXHIBITING TRANSNATIONAL ANGLO RUSSIANDIPLOMATIC HISTORY DURING THE COLD WAR, 1967 TRANSNATIONAL COLD WAR DIPLOMACY “IT WAS ALL DONE WITH SMILES” “AN EXHIBITION WITHOUT SALT”? RESHAPING HISTORICAL NARRATIVES? ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES 10 FROM FESMAN ’66 TO FESTAC ’77: COMPETING CURATORIAL STRATEGIES FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART AT PAN-AFRICAN FESTIVALS ORGANIZING THE US CONTRIBUTIONS TO FESMAN’S TRENDS AND CONFRONTATIONS US FESMAN CONVERSATIONS ERUPT FESMAN BECOMES FOIL TO FESTAC FESTAC (ALMOST NOT) REALIZED US ARTISTS EXPERIENCE FESTAC ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES 11 DESIGNING STABILITY: HONG KONG’S PAVILION AT EXPO 70 AND LOCAL EXPOSITIONS THE “BERLIN OF THE EAST”: HONG KONG AS A STRATEGIC ADMINISTRATIVE ZONE HONG KONG WEEK AND HKBPE “76 NATIONS AND ONE SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE ZONE”: HONG KONG IN EXPO 70 “JUST A BLOCKHOUSE WITH A LOT OF SAILS ON IT” RE-INVENTING TRADITIONS POSTSCRIPT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES 12 PHARAOH DIPLOMACY: THE SOFT POWER OF THE TREASURES OF TUTANKHAMUN “TUT—EGYPT’S SPECIAL AMBASSADOR” MUSEUM DIPLOMACY: THE INTERESTS OF THE WESTERN MUSEUM DIRECTORS THE CULTURAL DIPLOMACY OF OIL: THE US, BRITISH, AND GERMAN GOVERNMENTS’ INTERESTS IN EGYPTIAN RESOURCES OBJECT DIPLOMACY: WESTERN APPROPRIATION OF EGYPTIAN MATERIAL CULTURE WHOSE POWERS? NOTES 13 A “TROPIC-PROOF CONTAINER EXHIBITION”: THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN CONFIGURING DESIGN, A DUTCH CASE STUDY DUTCH CULTURAL DIPLOMACY BETWEEN IMMUTABILITY AND MOBILITY DESIGN EXHIBITIONS AS “PLASTIC DIPLOMACY” DESIGNING MOBILITY AND MOBILIZING DESIGN DUTCH DESIGN AS HUMANE MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN REAPPRAISING THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS INDEX