US PAVILION, INDIAN INDUSTRIES FAIR, NEW DELHI 1955

The United States Pavilion, 1955 Indian Industries Fair, New Delhi, India

The “Atomics” Exhibition at the US Pavilion was America’s largest and most politically sensitive display at Asia’s first major international Fair. The initial concept for  the “Atomics” Exhibition was developed by USIA’s Washington-based “Atomic Energy Taskforce.” The highly technical exhibition in New Delhi, which included a full-scale mock-up of the graphite reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee, focused on the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Sixty young Indian physics majors fluent in Hindi, English and at least one other Indian language acted as the exhibition’s guides. The scientific content of the “Atomics” Exhibition in New Delhi was so extensive that the American show attracted visits from both the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Soviet Union’s leaders, Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin, who made a State Visit to India during the course of the Fair.

 

Project Description: United States Pavilion and Exhibition 

Country: India

City: New Delhi

Site: Mathura Road

Year of Commission: 1954

Sponsors: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits; United States Department of Commerce, Office of International Trade Fairs (OITF)

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA Exhibits Officer, American Embassy New Delhi

Project Design Team: John Vassos, Pavilion Architect, US; Kavinde & Rai, Pavilion Co-Architects, India; Jack Masey, Exhibition Designer

US Pavilion Building Contractors: Dan Singh Bawa Company

Construction Consultant and Atomics Exhibition Fabricator: Fritz Bornemann, West Berlin

Technical Consultants: Atomics Exhibit, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Electronics Exhibit, General Electric Corporation

Size: US Site - 100,000 square feet       US Pavilion - 45,000 square feet           Atomics Exhibit - 20,000 square feet     Technology Exhibit - 15,000 square feet Electronics Exhibit - 10,000 square feet

Duration of Show Period: October 29, 1955 - January 1, 1956

Attendance: Total Attendance for US Pavilion - 3 Million Visitors; Daily Average Attendance for Atomics Exhibit - 25,000 Visitors 

Cost: $6,000,000

 

The US Pavilion was built with ancient building methods and crude bricks. Women porters climbed primitive scaffolding to bring masons bricks and mortar carried on their heads.  (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The US Pavilion was built with ancient building methods and crude bricks. Women porters climbed primitive scaffolding to bring masons bricks and mortar carried on their heads.  (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
The finished US Pavilion structure by architect John Vassos. Over the "Atomics" exhibit area of the US Pavilion, a giant atom foreshadowed the "Atomium" symbol of EXPO '58.      (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The finished US Pavilion structure by architect John Vassos. Over the "Atomics" exhibit area of the US Pavilion, a giant atom foreshadowed the "Atomium" symbol of EXPO '58.     (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
The highly popular Magic-Hands demonstration at the "Atomics" Exhibit in  New Delhi was modeled after equipment used at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee.         (Photo: USIA, Courtesy,

The highly popular Magic-Hands demonstration at the "Atomics" Exhibit in  New Delhi was modeled after equipment used at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee.         (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
Jack Masey escorts Indian Prime Minister Jawarharlal Nehru through the "Atomics" exhibition, the largest and most complex component of the US Pavilion in New Delhi.    (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

Jack Masey escorts Indian Prime Minister Jawarharlal Nehru through the "Atomics" exhibition, the largest and most complex component of the US Pavilion in New Delhi.   (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
Jack Masey, Soviet Party Secretary Nikita Khrushchev and Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin. During their official 1955 visit to India, the Soviet leaders visited the US "Atomics" exhibit. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)  

Jack Masey, Soviet Party Secretary Nikita Khrushchev and Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin. During their official 1955 visit to India, the Soviet leaders visited the US "Atomics" exhibit. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

 

US PAVILION, JESHYN INTERNATIONAL FAIR, KABUL 1956

The United States Pavilion, 1956 Jeshyn International Fair, Kabul, Afghanistan

In May 1956, a large block of Communist countries was building national pavilions on the Jeshyn International Fairgrounds in Kabul, Afghanistan. Belatedly alerted to this surge of Communist activity, USIA assigned New Delhi Exhibits Officer Jack Masey the task of producing a U.S. Pavilion for the Fair in Afghanistan only twelve weeks before its opening day. Given the project’s severe logistical and time constraints, Masey turned to visionary engineer R. Buckminister Fuller to develop a dramatic US pavilion structure for Kabul. Believing Afghanistan to be geopolitically important, Fuller happily accepted the challenge: his geodesic dome for Kabul was designed, calculated and engineered in seven days, and manufactured in North Carolina in thirty days. It was then flown across the world and through the Hindu Kush mountains to the Kabul fairgrounds where it was erected in forty-eight hours with unskilled Afghan labor. Buckminster Fuller’s dome in Afghanistan—the first ever to be used as a US Pavilion structure at an international fair—was an immediate success: within days of the Jeshyn Fair’s opening, the US Commerce Department was planning to use Fuller's domes at trade fairs around the world. 

 

Project Description: United States Pavilion and Exhibition

Country: Afghanistan

City: Kabul

Site: Jeshyn Fair Grounds

Date of Commission: May 25, 1956

Sponsors: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits; United States Department of Commerce, Office of International Trade Fairs (OITF)

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA Exhibits Officer and Project Designer

Project Design Team: R. Buckminster Fuller, Pavilion Architect; Jack Masey, Project Designer

Display Source: United States Department of Commerce

Construction Consultants: Jefferson Davis Brooks, III - Engineer, Geodesics Inc; John Dixon - Project Consultant Representing R. Buckminster Fuller in Afghanistan

Size: 30,000 square feet

Duration of Show Period: August 26, 1956 - September 8, 1956

Attendance: 202,500 Visitors 

Cost: Fuller's Geodesic Dome - $35,270; US Pavilion Project - $200,000 

Afghan workers followed colored-coded markings on structural components to quickly assemble the geodesic US Pavilion in Kabul.   (Photo:  Courtesy, Jack Masey)

Afghan workers followed colored-coded markings on structural components to quickly assemble the geodesic US Pavilion in Kabul.  (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)
The request of Afghanistan's King Zahir that he be given this dome as a high-tech version of his country's indigenous "yurt" dwellings was declined by the US government.               (Photo: James Cudney, Courte

The request of Afghanistan's King Zahir that he be given this dome as a high-tech version of his country's indigenous "yurt" dwellings was declined by the US government.               (Photo: James Cudney, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
A Lionel train set captivates Afghan visitors to the US Pavilion. Local custom permitted only men and boys to visit the fairgrounds in Kabul. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

A Lionel train set captivates Afghan visitors to the US Pavilion. Local custom permitted only men and boys to visit the fairgrounds in Kabul. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
R. Buckminster Fuller and Jack Masey with model of Kabul dome. Masey teamed with Fuller again at the 1959 US Exhibition in Moscow and at the US Pavilion at EXPO 67 Montreal.     (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

R. Buckminster Fuller and Jack Masey with model of Kabul dome. Masey teamed with Fuller again at the 1959 US Exhibition in Moscow and at the US Pavilion at EXPO 67 Montreal.     (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

"AMERICA BUILDS" EXHIBITION, WEST BERLIN 1957

"America Builds" (Amerika Baut), 1957 West Berlin Industrial Fair (Interbau)

Germany’s capitol city, divided by Western Allies and the Soviet Union into East and West Berlin after the end of World War II, rapidly became the Cold War's cultural front line. When, in 1957, West Germans decided to mount the Interbau architecture competition as an antidote to the bland communist-built block houses rising in East Berlin, USIA’s decision to simultaneously mount an exhibition about American architecture in West Berlin was a politically charged one. The architecture firm of Peter Blake and Julian Neski was commissioned by USIA’s design chief Jack Masey to create “America Builds”--an architecture exhibit at West Berlin’s George C. Marshall House. Blake--a German-born American architect whose family had fled the Nazis--wrote at the time in Architectural Forum, "Today, the man who opened the Bauhaus and the man who was forced to close it can look with wry satisfaction: for the ideas of Gropius and Mies predominate wherever Germany rebuilds....How have [these ideas] gained by being exposed to America? And how readily have West Germans accepted the American version?" Home building—already heavily represented at Interbau—was omitted from the US exhibit, as were brick and stone building techniques recognized by Germans as the favored building methods of the Führer.

 

Project Description: Exhibition of the American Building Industry                         Technics; Materials; Products; Designs

Country: Federal Republic of Germany

City: West Berlin

Site: George C. Marshall House       Berlin-Charlottenburg

Year of Commission: 1957

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Branch, International Cultural Services (ICS)

Project Design Team: Peter Blake, Architect; Julian Neski, Architect        

Graphics Consultant: Robert Brownjohn

Size: 20,000 square feet

Duration: September 14, 1957 - September 29, 1957

Attendance: 150,000 Visitors

Cost: $125,000 

"Amerika Baut" emphasized techniques of heavy construction and the highly detailed organization that went into large-scale building projects. (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)

"Amerika Baut" emphasized techniques of heavy construction and the highly detailed organization that went into large-scale building projects. (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)
A panorama of New York City at night was on the upper level of the exhibit. The wall's curve was calculated to increase a sense of architectural perspective.  (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)

A panorama of New York City at night was on the upper level of the exhibit. The wall's curve was calculated to increase a sense of architectural perspective.  (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)
The strategic use of floor mirrors enhanced the perception of vertical height for visitors viewing large-scale models of modern US skyscrapers. (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)

The strategic use of floor mirrors enhanced the perception of vertical height for visitors viewing large-scale models of modern US skyscrapers. (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)
Advocating the benefits of "pre-planning" and "pre-design", Blake stressed the influence of ship, railroad and airplane construction on US building methods. (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)

Advocating the benefits of "pre-planning" and "pre-design", Blake stressed the influence of ship, railroad and airplane construction on US building methods. (Photo: Peter Blake, NARA)

"KALAMAZOO" EXHIBITION, WEST BERLIN 1958

"Kalamazoo and How It Grew", 1958 International Industries Fair, West Berlin

When German-born graphic designer and typographer Will Burtin was asked by Adolph Hitler to lead the design team for the Third Reich’s propaganda programs in 1938, Burtin, with his Jewish wife, Hilde, fled Germany to America. In the US, Burtin's work as an art director for Architectural Forum, Fortune Magazine, and the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company, headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, introduced him to leading American photographers. The work of many of these photographers was incorporated in his 1958 design for the USIA exhibition “Kalamazoo and How It Grew” at the George C. Marshall House in West Berlin. Intended to counteract negative images of the US from both Hollywood films and Soviet propaganda, the exhibit focused on the everyday life of Kalamazoo's citizens and the city’s main industries—paper manufacturing and the Gibson guitar factory. Project Consultant Eleanor Dulles, the sister of US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles and CIA Chief, Allen Dulles, commented: "It is particularly important that this exhibit deal with the average American because the audience will be heavily from East Berlin. The people will carry back to Russian occupied Germany what they see at the exhibit."

 

Project Description: Exhibition Representing Typical American City

Country: Federal Republic of Germany

City: West Berlin

Site: George C. Marshall House         Berlin-Charlottenburg

Year of Commission: 1957

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Branch, International Cultural Services (ICS)

Exhibition Design: Will Burtin, Exhibit Designer; Jack Masey, Project Manager

Exhibition Consultants: Eleanor Dulles; Ezra Stoller; Jay Maisel; Garry Winogrand; Lee Friedlander

Size: 20,000 square feet

Duration: September 13, 1958 - October 12, 1958

Attendance: 100,000 Visitors

Cost: $50,000 

Leading US photographers Lee Friedlander, Jay Maisel, Garry Winogrand and Ezra Stoller contributed to this display wall showing a cross-section of life in Kalamazoo, Michagan.       (Photo: NARA)

Leading US photographers Lee Friedlander, Jay Maisel, Garry Winogrand and Ezra Stoller contributed to this display wall showing a cross-section of life in Kalamazoo, Michagan.       (Photo: NARA)
Burtin used giant bands of paper to lead German visitors through the story of "Kalamazoo and How It Grew" from early settlers' log cabins into a bustling paper-manufacturing city.   (Photo: NARA)

Burtin used giant bands of paper to lead German visitors through the story of "Kalamazoo and How It Grew" from early settlers' log cabins into a bustling paper-manufacturing city.   (Photo: NARA)
The popular Gibson Guitar was manufactured in Kalamazoo. The Gibson company's famous innovative freedom provided an intended contrast to communist-controlled East Berlin.     (Photo: NARA) 

The popular Gibson Guitar was manufactured in Kalamazoo. The Gibson company's famous innovative freedom provided an intended contrast to communist-controlled East Berlin.     (Photo: NARA) 

AMERICAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION, MOSCOW 1959

1959 American National Exhibition, Moscow (ANEM)

When the US signed the final agreement to participate in a first-ever exchange of national exhibitions between the US and the USSR on December 28, 1958, USIA’s design chief Jack Masey had only a spartan budget and seven months to produce an American exhibition on eight frozen acres in Sokolniki Park, Moscow. He recruited George Nelson and R. Buckminster Fuller as principal designers, as much for their problem solving skills as for their design skills. Charles and Ray Eames were recruited to create a multi-screen film, “Glimpses of the USA” to counter doubts by skeptical Soviet visitors that the items on display in the American exhibition—conceptualized as a “Corner of America”—actually existed in America. Among the items featured were a model home, four functioning kitchens, two-dozen automobiles, a controversial art show, fashion shows, IBM’s RAMAC computer and Edward Steichen’s “Family of Man” photo exhibit. The intense exchange that erupted at the show’s opening between Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and US Vice President Richard Nixon about the relative merits of their respective economic systems (the “Khrushchev-Nixon kitchen debate”) has focused the attention of scholars on this exhibition for more than fifty years.

 

Project Description: Exchange of National Exhibitions Between USA and USSR - American National Exhibition, Moscow (ANEM)

Country: USSR

City: Moscow

Site: Sokolniki Park

Year of Commission: December 28, 1958 (US/USSR Final agreement About American Participation in Exchange of National Exhibitions)

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits; US State Department, Harold C. McClellan, Exhibition General Manager

Project Design Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Branch, International Cultural Services (ICS); Chief, Design and Construction - American National Exhibition, Moscow (ANEM).

Project Design Team: R. Buckminster Fuller, Architect/Engineer; George Nelson, Exhibition Designer; Charles and Ray Eames, Filmmakers; Welton Becket & Associates, "Glass Pavilion" and Architects of Record 

Exhibition Consultants: Peter Blake and Julian Neski, Architecture Exhibit; Edward Steichen, "Family of Man" Photographic Exhibit; Edith Halprin, Art Exhibit; Walt Disney Company, "Circarama"; Chrysler Group LLC; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Helena Rubinstein Company; Coty Cosmetics; Leonard Hankin; Bergdorf Goodman

Construction Consultants: Donald L. Richter, Designer and Patent-Holder of Kaiser Aluminum Dome; George Nelson and Company Inc, Architects and Designers of Interior and Outdoor Exhibits - Philip George, Project Manager; Robert Zion & Harold Breen, Landscape Architects; Rollo Williams, Lighting Consultant; Reynolds-Feal, General Contractor; Lydick Roofing Company, Contractor for the Kaiser Dome

Size: 400,000 square feet (American Site in Sokolniki Park)

Duration: July 25, 1959 - September 4, 1959

Attendance: 2.7 Million + Visitors

Cost: $3,300,000

Given only seven months to produce a dome that could withstand Moscow's snow loads, Bucky Fuller recommended this Kaiser dome patented by his student, Donald Richter.  (Photo: Lucia DeRespinis, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

Given only seven months to produce a dome that could withstand Moscow's snow loads, Bucky Fuller recommended this Kaiser dome patented by his student, Donald Richter.  (Photo: Lucia DeRespinis, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
Charles Eames (l), George Nelson (c), Jack Masey (r) explore how Charles and Ray Eames' multi-screen film, "Glimpses of the USA" could be shown at the US exhibition in Moscow. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy Jack Masey)

Charles Eames (l), George Nelson (c), Jack Masey (r) explore how Charles and Ray Eames' multi-screen film, "Glimpses of the USA" could be shown at the US exhibition in Moscow. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy Jack Masey)
The Eames's 7-screen film was intended to counter the skepticism of Soviet visitors about the quality of life in America. Shown: Clover-leaf highways and automobiles across the US.      (Photo: Courtesy, 2008 Eames Office, LLC)

The Eames's 7-screen film was intended to counter the skepticism of Soviet visitors about the quality of life in America. Shown: Clover-leaf highways and automobiles across the US.      (Photo: Courtesy, 2008 Eames Office, LLC)
The fragrant smell of cakes baking wafted continuously through the American exhibition's four working kitchens. Soviet authorities barred Russian visitors from tasting the food.  (Photo: Collection of Dr. Shelly Weinig)

The fragrant smell of cakes baking wafted continuously through the American exhibition's four working kitchens. Soviet authorities barred Russian visitors from tasting the food.  (Photo: Collection of Dr. Shelly Weinig)

"PLASTICS: USA" EXHIBITION, USSR 1961

"Plastics: USA"

1961 Plastics: USA toured Kiev, Moscow and Tbilisi and was visited by over 375,000 Soviets. More than 230 American businesses and firms made available equipment and supplies for the exhibition which focused on the wide application of plastics in the home and various industries.

 

Project Description: American Traveling Exhibit in US/USSR Exhibits Exchange Program

Country: USSR

Cities: Traveling Exhibit- Kiev; Moscow; Tbilisi

Site: Kiev - Pavilion of Chemical Industries, Kiev; Moscow - Building P-1 Gorky Park, Moscow; Tbilisi - Picture Gallery, Tbilisi

Year of Commission: 1961

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Exchange, International Cultural Services (ICS)

Exhibition Designer: Jack Masey 

Construction Supervision and Exhibit Installation - USSR: Bruno Bertagnoli 

Size: Square Footage Unknown

Duration: Kiev - May 15, 1961 - June 5, 1961; Moscow -  July 1, 1961 - July 21, 1961; Tbilisi -  August 11 - September 1, 1961

Attendance: 375,000 Visitors

Cost: $544,181 (Estimated)

A collection of well-designed objects manufactured in the US was selected for the "Plastics" exhibition. Shown here: Eero Saarinen's award-winning "Tulip" tables and chairs from Knoll.  (Photo: Courtesy, Marie Ciliberte)

A collection of well-designed objects manufactured in the US was selected for the "Plastics" exhibition. Shown here: Eero Saarinen's award-winning "Tulip" tables and chairs from Knoll.  (Photo: Courtesy, Marie Ciliberte)
Many of the household items in the "Plastics" exhibition had been featured in MoMA's "Good Design" shows. Bright colors and simple shapes characterized these items.         (Photo: Courtesy, Marie Ciliberti) 

Many of the household items in the "Plastics" exhibition had been featured in MoMA's "Good Design" shows. Bright colors and simple shapes characterized these items.         (Photo: Courtesy, Marie Ciliberti) 
The cover of the booklet given to Soviet visitors at the "Plastics:USA" exhibit showed plastics in use across a wide spectrum of applications. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The cover of the booklet given to Soviet visitors at the "Plastics:USA" exhibit showed plastics in use across a wide spectrum of applications. (Photo: USIA, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

"TRANSPORTATION: USA" EXHIBITION, USSR 1961

"Transportation: USA"

1961 "Transportation: USA" toured Volgograd and Kharkov and drew 180,000 visitors. The exhibit underscored the vital role of transportation and distribution networks in the American economy and way of life.

 

Project Description: American Traveling Exhibit in US/USSR Exhibits Exchange Program

Country: USSR

Cities: Traveling Exhibit - Volgograd; Kharkov

Site: Volgograd (Stalingrad) - Palace of Culture, Volgograd; Kharkov - Unknown

Year of Commission: 1961

Duration: Volgograd (Stalingrad) - October 14, 1961 - November 4, 1961; Kharkov - Unknown

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Exchange, International Cultural Services (ICS)

Exhibition Designers: George Nelson and Jack Masey

Construction Supervision and Exhibit Installation - USSR: Bruno Bertagnoli 

Size: Square Footage Unknown

Attendance: 180,000 Visitors

Cost: $652,691 (Estimated)

The size, speed and safety of the Boeing 707 jetliner, first introduced in 1958, revolutionized public air travel around the world.  (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey) 

The size, speed and safety of the Boeing 707 jetliner, first introduced in 1958, revolutionized public air travel around the world.  (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey) 
A working model of Ford's futuristic air-elevated "Levacar" was tethered to a circular glass track. With an estimated top speed of 500 mph, Ford's prototype vehicle lacked brakes.       (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

A working model of Ford's futuristic air-elevated "Levacar" was tethered to a circular glass track. With an estimated top speed of 500 mph, Ford's prototype vehicle lacked brakes.       (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)
The "Transportation:USA" brochure. For skeptical Soviet visitors, images like these drove home the reality of America's advanced highway system and robust automobile industry.  (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The "Transportation:USA" brochure. For skeptical Soviet visitors, images like these drove home the reality of America's advanced highway system and robust automobile industry.  (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

"MEDICINE: USA" EXHIBITION, USSR 1962

"Medicine: USA"

1962 "Medicine: USA" toured Moscow, Kiev and Leningrad drawing 207,000 visitors. The exhibit featured fully-equipped doctor's and dentist's offices, a hospital operating room and a fully-stocked American drugstore with equipment donated and loaned by U.S. firms. There were six doctors, a dentist and a pharmacist to assist the Russian-speaking guides with specialized information.

 

Project Description: American Traveling Exhibit in US/USSR Exhibits Exchange Program

Country: USSR

Cities: Traveling Exhibit - Moscow; Kiev; Leningrad

Site: Moscow - Polytechnical Museum, Moscow; Kiev - Unknown; Leningrad - Palace of Culture, Leningrad

Year of Commission: 1962

Duration: Moscow - January 10, 1962 - January 31, 1962; Kiev - Unknown; Leningrad - April 4, 1962 - April 25, 1962

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Exchange, International Cultural Services (ICS)

Exhibition Designer: Jack Masey 

Exhibit Fabrication: Warren Display Company

Construction Supervision and Exhibit Installation - USSR: Bruno Bertagnoli  

Square Footage: Approximately 7,000 Square Feet

Cost: $653,128 (Estimated)

Attendance: 207,000 Visitors

 

The fully-equipped operating room in the US exhibit. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The fully-equipped operating room in the US exhibit. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)
The exhibit was comprised of 21 self-contained display units, all shipped preassembled. Here, a pharmacy display with American medical supplies.   (Photo, Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The exhibit was comprised of 21 self-contained display units, all shipped preassembled. Here, a pharmacy display with American medical supplies.   (Photo, Courtesy, Jack Masey)
The cover of the "Medicine:USA" brochure. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The cover of the "Medicine:USA" brochure. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

"TECHNICAL BOOKS: USA" EXHIBITION, USSR 1963

"Technical Books: USA"

1963 "Technical Books: USA" toured Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev drawing nearly 150,000 visitors. At this exhibit, more than 700 U.S. publishers displayed a complete range of published materials on technical subjects.

 

Project Description: American Traveling Exhibit in US/USSR Exhibits Exchange Program

Country: USSR

Cities: Traveling Exhibit - Moscow; Leningrad; Kiev; Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Site: Unknown

Year of Commission: 1963

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Exchange, International Cultural Services (ICS)

Exhibition Designer: Jack Masey 

Construction Supervision and Exhibit Installation - USSR: Bruno Bertagnoli

Size: Square Footage Unknown

Duration: Unknown

Attendance: 150,000 Visitors

Cost: Unknown

 

Soviet authorities requested books on the topics shown here: Mathematics and Agriculture. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

Soviet authorities requested books on the topics shown here: Mathematics and Agriculture. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)
The cover of the "American Technical Books" brochure. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

The cover of the "American Technical Books" brochure. (Photo: Courtesy, Jack Masey)

"GRAPHIC ARTS: USA" EXHIBITION, USSR 1963-1964

"Graphic Arts: USA"

"Graphics Arts: USA" presented the vibrant, experimental world of 1960s American graphic arts to Soviet audiences accustomed only to "Socialist Realism", the representational art style sanctioned and controlled by the Kremlin. Denounced by the Russian press throughout its 1963-64 tour, this controversial US exhibit attracted 1.6 million Soviet visitors, and is remembered as one of the most highly attended shows in the 30-year history of the US Traveling Exhibits Program in the USSR. The Graphic Arts USA exhibit included fine art prints, fabrics, a fully-equipped print shop, examples of book design, corporate logos, advertising design, cartoons, record covers, posters, packaging design and 3D signs and displays. Shown in Alma Ata, Moscow, Yerevan and Leningrad, the show included 1,000 works by more than 100 artists and was supported by a color film "LITHO", produced by the Amalgamated Lithographers of America (ALA). The ALA also printed 200,000 copies of a souvenir portfolio-brochure that was distributed gratis to Soviet visitors. When illustrator Norman Rockwell visited the exhibit in the Soviet capital in December, 1963, the American Embassy in Moscow officially requested that Rockwell be granted permission to paint a portrait of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The request was denied by the Kremlin. 

 

Project Description: American Traveling Exhibit in US/USSR Exhibits Exchange Program

Country: USSR

Cities: Alma Ata (Almaty);  Moscow; Yerevan; Leningrad

Years of Commission: 1963 - 1964

Sponsor: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits

Project Lead: Jack Masey, USIA, Chief, East-West Exhibits Exchange, International Cultural Services (ICS)

Exhibition Designers: Chermayeff & Geismar Associates (with Jack Hall, Architect for the Display System)

Display Source: American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)

Construction Supervision and Exhibit Installation - USSR: Bruno Bertagnoli

Fabricators: Warren Display Company

Contributors: Fritz Eichenberg, Alvin Eisenman, Lucille Ogle, Gene Federico, George Krikorian, Bradbury Thompson, Robert Cato, George Tscherny, Lester Beall, Amalgamated Lithographers of America 

Size: Approximately 8,000 square feet. 

Duration of Show Periods:

Alma Ata (Almaty): October 5, 1963 - November 1, 1963

Moscow: December 6, 1963 - January 15, 1964

Yerevan: February 12, 1964 - March 14, 1964

Leningrad: (Unknown)

Attendance: 1.6 Million Visitors

Cost: (Unknown)

The creative freedom of 1960s America permeated the bright abstracted shapes of US corporate logos and popular cartoons alike.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar) 

The creative freedom of 1960s America permeated the bright abstracted shapes of US corporate logos and popular cartoons alike.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar) 
The 148-ton Graphic Arts USA exhibit's demountable display system and 1000 panels were packed into 304 crates to tour the USSR.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

The 148-ton Graphic Arts USA exhibit's demountable display system and 1000 panels were packed into 304 crates to tour the USSR.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
The poster designed by Thomas Geismar for the Graphic Arts USA exhibit in the USSR is today part of MoMA's Graphic Arts collection.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

The poster designed by Thomas Geismar for the Graphic Arts USA exhibit in the USSR is today part of MoMA's Graphic Arts collection.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
Soviet visitors queued for hours to see the US exhibit when it opened in Moscow two weeks after the assassination of President Kennedy.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

Soviet visitors queued for hours to see the US exhibit when it opened in Moscow two weeks after the assassination of President Kennedy.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

US PAVILION, CANADIAN WORLD EXHIBITION MONTREAL EXPO '67

United States Pavilion, 1967 Canadian Universal and International Exhibition, EXPO 67 Montreal

In 1964, the United States government accepted Ottawa's invitation to participate at Expo ’67 in Montreal in what was a period of great turbulence for the US: President Kennedy had been assassinated only months before, the civil rights movement and the Viet Nam war were sparking violent protests at home, and internal strife in the Kremlin would soon depose Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. USIA’s Jack Masey sought to create a US presence at the Montreal EXPO--a Category One Universal Exhibition (the highest category of World’s Fairs)--that would be “quintessentially American” and “notable for its technological and aesthetic inventiveness.” Shortly after Masey commissioned R. Buckminster Fuller and Cambridge Seven Associates to produce a US Pavilion based on the theme of “Creative America”, architect Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates suggested that Fuller reshape his original hemispheric structure as a taller, more rounded “three-quarter sphere”. The resulting iconic 20-story high US Pavilion at Expo ’67 Montreal (dubbed “Bucky’s Biggest Bubble” by the press) contained interior exhibits on multiple platforms reached by the world’s longest escalator. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) named the US Pavilion at EXPO ‘67 one of America’s greatest buildings in its 1976 Bicentennial survey of historic American architecture.

 

Project Description: Category One Universal Exposition, US Pavilion Structure and Exhibitions

Country: P.Q., Canada

City: Montreal

Site: Island of St. Helene in St. Lawrence River

Year of Commission: July 29, 1964

Sponsors: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits; US Department of State, Stanley Tupper and Micky Fredman, US Commissioners General EXPO '67

US Project Design Lead: Jack Masey, Chief of Design and Operations, US Pavilion, EXPO '67

Project Design Team: R. Buckminster Fuller, Fuller & Sadao, Inc. and Geometrics Inc, Pavilion Architects; Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc, Interior Architecture, Exhibition Design and Site Planning

Exhibition Consultants: Terry Rankine, Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc, Coordinator of Architecture; Ivan Chermayeff, Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc, Coordinator of Design; Ivan Chermayeff, R.O. Blechman, Robert Osborn, Tomi Ungerer, Graphic Artists; Alan Solomon, "American Painting Now" Exhibit; James R. Silke, "The American Cinema" Exhibit; Dalton Morris "Destination: Moon" Exhibit; Art Kane, Filmmaker - "A Time To Play"; Bill Blass, Designer, Guide Uniforms

Construction Consultants: Peter Floyd, Project Supervisor; Hugh F. McMillan, Canadian Associate Architects; George A. Fuller Company, Inc, Pavilion Construction; Paul Londe and Associates, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers; Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Inc, Structural Engineers; Carol R. Johnson, Landscape Architect; Edison Price, Inc, Lighting Consultant

Size: Square Footage: 250 feet (Equatorial Diameter); 200 feet (Height, 20 Stories); 38,000 square feet (Clear Interior Base Area); 100,000 square feet (Total Exhibition Areas); 7 million cubic feet (Interior Volume)

Duration: April 27, 1967 - October 29, 1967

Attendance: 9 Million Visitors 

Cost: $9,300,000 

 Visitors to the American Pavilion often had to wait in long queues. Some chose instead to view the US show from the EXPO's mono-rail which passed directly through the dome. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar) 

 Visitors to the American Pavilion often had to wait in long queues. Some chose instead to view the US show from the EXPO's mono-rail which passed directly through the dome. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar) 
Every artifact in the US Pavilion was real: fire-flashing on the space module (lower left) reveals re-entry burn marks for visitors.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

Every artifact in the US Pavilion was real: fire-flashing on the space module (lower left) reveals re-entry burn marks for visitors.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
The 20-story height of Fuller's geodesic dome allowed "American Painting Now" to be the largest exhibit of Pop Art ever assembled. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar) 

The 20-story height of Fuller's geodesic dome allowed "American Painting Now" to be the largest exhibit of Pop Art ever assembled. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar) 
The giant scale of Tom Wesselman's Pop Art painting, "Mouth" becomes clear when compared with visitors seen on top right platform.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

The giant scale of Tom Wesselman's Pop Art painting, "Mouth" becomes clear when compared with visitors seen on top right platform.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
The theme of the US Pavilion was "Creative America". Here, visitors ascend near works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Ivan Chermayeff. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

The theme of the US Pavilion was "Creative America". Here, visitors ascend near works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Ivan Chermayeff. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
While visitors rose continuously on the world's longest escalator, the transparent US Pavilion changed strikingly as day turned into night.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

While visitors rose continuously on the world's longest escalator, the transparent US Pavilion changed strikingly as day turned into night.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
The planners of the US Pavilion, left to right: R. Buckminster Fuller; Jack Masey, USIA; Terry Rankine, Cambridge Seven Associates; Peter Floyd, Geometrics, Inc.  (Photo: NARA)

The planners of the US Pavilion, left to right: R. Buckminster Fuller; Jack Masey, USIA; Terry Rankine, Cambridge Seven Associates; Peter Floyd, Geometrics, Inc.  (Photo: NARA)

US PAVILION, JAPAN WORLD EXPOSITION OSAKA EXPO '70

United States Pavilion, Japan World Exposition, Osaka EXPO '70

EXPO ’70 Osaka—Asia’s first-ever Category One World’s Fair—was  meant to shine a global spotlight on modern Japan 25 years after World War II. But US EXPO planners were encumbered at home by the growing costs of the Viet Nam war. In 1967, USIA’s Jack Masey organized a competition in which leading American architects and designers were invited to form teams to produce design concepts for an American Pavilion in Osaka. The winning concept—an air-inflatable pavilion—was submitted by the design team of Davis, Brody, Chermayeff, Geismar & de Harak, and structural engineer David Geiger. Twice forced to scrap its plans by Congressional funding cuts, the team’s third and final design was a low-slung air-supported roof of space-age fabric and steel cables above an earthen berm. Constructed in collaboration with Japanese master-builders Ohbayashi-Gumi Ltd., the US Pavilion in Osaka cost $4.50 per sq. ft. and was the largest, lightest clear-span air-supported structure ever built. A moon rock retrieved during the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission attracted 16.2 million visitors to the US Pavilion and was the most popular exhibit at the Osaka EXPO.

 

Project Description: Category One Universal Exposition, US Pavilion Structure and Exhibitions

Country: Japan

City: Osaka

Site: The Senri Hills (Suita), Osaka

Year of Commission:  1967

Sponsors: United States Information Agency (USIA), Office of Exhibits; US Department of State, Howard Chernoff, US Commissioner General

US Project Design Lead: Jack Masey, Deputy Commissioner General for Planning and Design, US Pavilion,     EXPO '70

Project Design Team: Samuel M. Brody, Lewis Davis, Ivan Chermayeff, Thomas H. Geismar and Rudolf deHarak, Pavilion Architects and Designers; David Geiger and Horst Berger, Pavilion Engineers; Yasuo Uesaka, Project Architect; David Sutton, Senior Exhibition Designer

Exhibition Consultants: Rudolf deHarak and The Museum of Modern Art for the John Szarkowski curated "Ten Photographers" Exhibit; Ivan Chermayeff and The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the John H. Howat curated "American Painting" Exhibit; Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the Maurice Tuchman curated "New Arts" Exhibit; Thomas H. Geismar for the "Folk Art" Exhibit; Ivan Chermayeff and Architectural Forum for the "Architecture" Exhibit; Rudolf deHarak and the Baseball Hall of Fame for the "Sports" Exhibit; Thomas H. Geismar and NASA for the "Space Exploration" Exhibit

Construction Consultants: Ohbayashi-Gumi, Ltd., Pavilion General Contractor and Co-Architect; US Army Corps of Engineers, Supervision of Pavilion Construction;  Composite Division of Ferro Corp, Roof Fabric Supplier; Taiyo Kogyo Corp, Roof Fabricator; Shinko Wire Company, Ltd, Steel Cable Supplier; M. Paul Friedberg & Associates, Landscape Architects; Cosentini Associates, Mechanical Engineers; Howard Brandston Lighting Design, Inc, Lighting Consultant; Will Szabo Associates Ltd, Audio-Visual Consultant

Square Footage: Site Area, 225,000 square feet; Building Area, 100,000 square feet; Total Floor Area within the super-elliptical, air-supported, clear-span structure, 86,014 square feet

Duration: May 15, 1970 - September 13, 1970

Attendance: 16,200,000 Total Visitors; Daily Average Attendance in US Pavilion, 90,000 Visitors; People-Per-Hour Pavilion Capacity, 5,000-10,000 visitors

Cost: $10,325,000 Total, Including Operations; $450,000 for Construction of Pneumatically Supported Dome

Teams of workers stretch out the single 100,000 sq. ft. piece of space-age fabric that would become the roof of the air-inflated US Pavilion.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

Teams of workers stretch out the single 100,000 sq. ft. piece of space-age fabric that would become the roof of the air-inflated US Pavilion.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
The ultra-simple form of the US Pavilion belied its structural sophistication: its principles of "skewed symmetry" were patented after EXPO 70. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

The ultra-simple form of the US Pavilion belied its structural sophistication: its principles of "skewed symmetry" were patented after EXPO 70. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
To visitors (in zig-zag line, lower left) the US Pavilion appeared low and understated, but this aerial shot reveals its enormous scale. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

To visitors (in zig-zag line, lower left) the US Pavilion appeared low and understated, but this aerial shot reveals its enormous scale. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
Supported only by air-pressure and stabilized by interior lashed steel cables, the fabric roof covered an area equal in size to 2 football fields. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

Supported only by air-pressure and stabilized by interior lashed steel cables, the fabric roof covered an area equal in size to 2 football fields. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
Japan hosted EXPO '70 Osaka 25 years after WW II to signal to the world that she had officially become part of the 20th century's future. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

Japan hosted EXPO '70 Osaka 25 years after WW II to signal to the world that she had officially become part of the 20th century's future. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
NASA provided flight-flown items for display in Osaka. Here, equipment used in the successful 1969 Apollo 11 Lunar landing Mission. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

NASA provided flight-flown items for display in Osaka. Here, equipment used in the successful 1969 Apollo 11 Lunar landing Mission. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
A Moon Rock brought back to earth by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969 was the most popular exhibit on the entire Osaka fairgrounds. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

A Moon Rock brought back to earth by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969 was the most popular exhibit on the entire Osaka fairgrounds. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
MoMA's "Ten Photographers" Exhibit showing America's diversity was well received by the Japanese, but American reaction was split.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

MoMA's "Ten Photographers" Exhibit showing America's diversity was well received by the Japanese, but American reaction was split.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
Claes Oldenberg's giant kinetic sculpture, "Ice Bag", inflated, deflated, raised, lowered and twisted to the delight of EXPO visitors.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

Claes Oldenberg's giant kinetic sculpture, "Ice Bag", inflated, deflated, raised, lowered and twisted to the delight of EXPO visitors.  (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
LACMA's groundbreaking "New Arts" Exhibit included Rockne Krebs' argon and helium neon laser installation, seen here. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)

LACMA's groundbreaking "New Arts" Exhibit included Rockne Krebs' argon and helium neon laser installation, seen here. (Photo: Courtesy, Chermayeff & Geismar)
prev / next
Back to EXHIBITIONS