Same. Though I think the lesson of the Great Exhibition is that you can have it organised by someone nobody's heard of, and then leverage some celebrity endorsements (in this case, they associated it explicitly with Prince Albert, to the extent that he now still gets all the credit despite having been at most a bit player in the actual organisation of things!)
La Biennale di Venezia is a good case study in plastic arts, performance arts and architecture. Has a wonderful history, i recommend you look into it to draw meaningful parallels and differences.
Oh, yes, sorry. It was bundled in with the others, it was me who overlooked it. "One amazing day" went the strapline. It was all a bit anodyne I thought. It would be even worse had they put it on now.
I’ve worked for years in the comedy world and I think I can pinpoint the decade when ironic jokes started to proliferate about the World’s Fair in NY among stand ups and sketch artists... 1975. Even as a science geek and a lover of the history of invention, I remember laughing at references to “The Pavilion of Progress”. My small point is we ought to be aware of naming/overselling when we do the next Exhibition.
Yeah, good point. From what I can tell, some of the last World's Fairs to have the underlying "exhibition of industry" motive were in the 1960s. The shift to glossy, nation-promoting and stage-managed events occurred around that time, though I've not looked into that history in depth.
I started Maker Faire in 2006 in the SF Bay Area. Before the pandemic, we had Maker Faire produced in 48 countries. I saw it as a People's Worlds Fair, which like a county fair was something that anyone could participate in and the public could enjoy. It was more personal than industrial, yet it did have its commercial side. I was happy that we have been able to showcase makers of many different kinds of applications of technology and creativity. Our goal has been to invite people to see themselves as makers who can develop their ideas and make something real and useful or expressive. I tended to not use the word invention because most people think it is something only a few people choose to do. I like the word maker because it could mean many things.
That's awesome Dale. Looks like a really cool event - hope I'll get to visit one when things all open up again.
It reminds me a bit of some of the 1840s English precursors to the Great Exhibition. There was, for example, a "Anti-Corn Law League Bazaar" held in Covent Garden, to show off the handicrafts and other projects of the working classes. (The aim was to shame the aristocrats behind the protectionist Corn Laws, by showing how industry was the backbone of the nation).
That's a great point on maker vs inventor. I agree that one of the most damaging things about "inventor" nowadays is that it's accumulated some inaccessible connotations - of "genius", needing to be a "creative type", etc - which are nonsense. I might write that up into something, as the term by which we refer to invention/innovation/improvement has historically had to undergo periodic rebranding.
I think 19c machines were relatively easy to understand. Modern technological processes are too complex to be interesting to the general public. And the progress nowdays is more about IT which doesnt require a pavillion to demonstrate.
If not a state, who do you think is in a position to fund this or organize crowdfunding? Elon musk is the first person to come to my mind
Same. Though I think the lesson of the Great Exhibition is that you can have it organised by someone nobody's heard of, and then leverage some celebrity endorsements (in this case, they associated it explicitly with Prince Albert, to the extent that he now still gets all the credit despite having been at most a bit player in the actual organisation of things!)
La Biennale di Venezia is a good case study in plastic arts, performance arts and architecture. Has a wonderful history, i recommend you look into it to draw meaningful parallels and differences.
You didn't mention the 2000 exhibition at the Millennium Dome. Did you overlook it or would you argue that wasn't relevant to your argument?
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/01/millennium-dome-20-years-on-new-labour
I did mention it - “the Millennium Experience”, as it was called - but not in detail. I think it had the same flaws as the others.
Oh, yes, sorry. It was bundled in with the others, it was me who overlooked it. "One amazing day" went the strapline. It was all a bit anodyne I thought. It would be even worse had they put it on now.
I’ve worked for years in the comedy world and I think I can pinpoint the decade when ironic jokes started to proliferate about the World’s Fair in NY among stand ups and sketch artists... 1975. Even as a science geek and a lover of the history of invention, I remember laughing at references to “The Pavilion of Progress”. My small point is we ought to be aware of naming/overselling when we do the next Exhibition.
Yeah, good point. From what I can tell, some of the last World's Fairs to have the underlying "exhibition of industry" motive were in the 1960s. The shift to glossy, nation-promoting and stage-managed events occurred around that time, though I've not looked into that history in depth.
I started Maker Faire in 2006 in the SF Bay Area. Before the pandemic, we had Maker Faire produced in 48 countries. I saw it as a People's Worlds Fair, which like a county fair was something that anyone could participate in and the public could enjoy. It was more personal than industrial, yet it did have its commercial side. I was happy that we have been able to showcase makers of many different kinds of applications of technology and creativity. Our goal has been to invite people to see themselves as makers who can develop their ideas and make something real and useful or expressive. I tended to not use the word invention because most people think it is something only a few people choose to do. I like the word maker because it could mean many things.
That's awesome Dale. Looks like a really cool event - hope I'll get to visit one when things all open up again.
It reminds me a bit of some of the 1840s English precursors to the Great Exhibition. There was, for example, a "Anti-Corn Law League Bazaar" held in Covent Garden, to show off the handicrafts and other projects of the working classes. (The aim was to shame the aristocrats behind the protectionist Corn Laws, by showing how industry was the backbone of the nation).
That's a great point on maker vs inventor. I agree that one of the most damaging things about "inventor" nowadays is that it's accumulated some inaccessible connotations - of "genius", needing to be a "creative type", etc - which are nonsense. I might write that up into something, as the term by which we refer to invention/innovation/improvement has historically had to undergo periodic rebranding.
I think 19c machines were relatively easy to understand. Modern technological processes are too complex to be interesting to the general public. And the progress nowdays is more about IT which doesnt require a pavillion to demonstrate.
In the city where i live we have an archaeo-industrial park where looms, drills, bellows etc are demonstrated, quite a popular place.
Ah, speaking of movies, *Eiffel* (2021) might be of interest to you (if only half of it).
ooh, hadn't seen that one!