Evening star., 1936-09-05
FAIRS DECLARED
LESS|NFLUENT|AL
Architectural Forum Criti-
cizes Conduct of Exposi.
tions of Past.
GreciaI Dispatch to The Star

NEW YORK. September 5.-Fairs
of the future, If they allow competing
exhibitors to dictate how they shall
be run, and sell space the way
promoter sells shares, will be born
dead" no matter how much mcney
they make. This is the opinion OF
the Architectural Forum which, IN
its September issue. presents critical
review of the history OF fairs, an
examination of their existing pattern,
and a forecast for the immediate fu-
ture with respect to the New YORK
fair in 1888.
Fairs. which for centuries provided
the only means of exchanging goods
and spreading culture on a large
scale. have taken on fantastic propor-
tions since the middle of the past CEN
tury, have become less integrated,
more purposeless and less influential.
More than any other corporate
human activity, fairs picture an
epoch" observes the Forum. How
people live, what they are interested
in, their amusements, aspirations and
beliefs, what they wear. how they
travel, how they kill each other and
reduce infant mortality" Yet "hu-
man existence has become too COM
plex for fair to present all its phases
without drastic sinplification, and
measure of Interpretation"
Idea Is to Sell Ideas.
"The greatest single advance IN
fairs has been made in the field OF
exposition techniques. The general
theory is to sell ideas rather than
goods. The idea is dramatized by
means of all available methods
dioramas. moving exhibits, light, color
photomurals, captions and demonstra-
tions of processes. The intricate is
made simple and the simple is made
interesting by putting it into motion"
Architecturally, fairs may be said
TO date from the first international
exposition in England in 1851, &C
cording to the Forum; from the one
building which housed it, Paxton's
CRYSTAL Palace, superb creation OF
iron and glass, 1.s48 feet in length,
covering 10 acres, its delicate supports
occupying one -thousandths Of the
total floor area. The sheer audacry
Of the Crystal Palace captivated the
world, and for years afterward no fair
was considered complete without an
imitation"
Architecture "jelled" with the World
Columbian Exposition in Chicago in
1898. according to the Forum. In the
hands of Burnham, White, st. Gaudens
and Olmstead strange and wonderful
exposition took shape. Lagoons, miles
OF colonnades and sculpture and paint
ings on all sides created a stupendous
setting. 1t led to a whole series OF
plans for cities beautiful whose ave-
nues and Roman facades ignored the
fostering slums behind them"
Influenced Architecture.
That modern fairs have strongly in
6uenced architecture is apparent from
the Forums observation that "the
Queen Anne house entered America
by way of q fair; the Crystal Palace
introduced a new conception OF sTuc-
ture, and the 1893 exposition was
responsible for the classic vogue. The
new architecture appeared in a bril-
liant form with a large hall designed
by Gropius and Myer for the exposi-
ton of 1914 in Cologne 1t impressed
architects, particularly by its convinc-
ing use of glass in large areas. lie
Corbusier's pavilion at the 1925 expo
sition in Paris gave him start toward
world fame. Other buildings appeared
from time to time, but the first fair
consistently to apply the principles Of
contemporary architecture was held in
Stockholm in 1880.
THE movement spread stedily, so
that by 1888 the designers {. A Gen.
fury of Progress felt it was safe to
go modern Unlike most previous
fairs, where exhibits had been organ
ized with q certain consistency, A
Century Of Progress saw the triumph
of individual industrial exhibitors
who dotted the grounds with their
buildings. That some of these build
tngs were excellent" the Forum says,
"did nothing to lessen the chaotic
effect they helped to create"
Chicago Sets Pattern.
Chicago set the pattern for today's
fair In America. The three which
followed in swift succession-San
Diego. Dallas and Cleveland-differ,"
according to the Forum, "only in that
they have been less ambitious. With
the accuracy only a fair can attain,
this pattern reflects the national in
stability. The architecture is mod
ern,' the plan is impressive and un-
satisfying, the theme is grandiloquent
and usually overshadowed by the
repetitious efforts of competing ex-
hibitors, while the display experts
rise to new heights of stridency in
their efforts to attract attention.