This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
International Art and Technology Exhibition in Modern Life (Paris, 1937)
The International Art and Technology Exhibition in Modern Life took place in Paris from 25 May to 25 November 1937. The Bureau International des Expositions formally approved the event, which examined how modern technology reshaped art, architecture, and daily life. At the same time, the exhibition unfolded against a tense political backdrop that increasingly shaped its meaning and reception.
Exhibition Sites and Architecture
On this occasion, Paris built two significant buildings that continue to shape the city’s cultural landscape. First, planners built the Palais de Chaillot, now home to the Musée de l’Homme. At the same time, architects completed the Palais de Tokyo, today home to the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Together, these buildings expressed a monumental modern classicism that aligned architecture with national identity and cultural ambition.
The Abandoned Phare du Monde Project
Initially, organisers planned to crown the exhibition with an extraordinary structure known as the Phare du Monde (“Lighthouse of the World”). Designers envisioned a 2,300-foot (700-metre) tower with a spiralling roadway that led to a parking garage at the summit. Above this, they planned to install a hotel and restaurant. However, engineers quickly identified unacceptable structural and safety risks. As a result, organisers abandoned the project before construction began.
Awards and Distinctions
Architecture and Urban Design
Albert Speer and Boris Iofan earned gold medals for their national pavilion designs. In addition, the jury awarded Speer a Grand Prix for his model of the Nuremberg Rally Grounds, a decision that reportedly surprised both Speer and Adolf Hitler.
Meanwhile, Polish architect Stanisław Brukalski received a bronze medal for his modernist house in Warsaw in 1929. Notably, Brukalski drew inspiration from the Rietveld Schröder House, which he had visited firsthand.
Across the Atlantic, American architect Alden Dow won the Grand Prize for Residential Architecture for the John S. Whitman House in Midland, Michigan. At the same time, Soviet architect Andrey Kryachkov received the Grand Prix for his 100-apartment residential building in Novosibirsk.
Sculpture and Fine Arts
Artist Johanne de Ribert Kajanus earned a bronze medal for her life-size sculpture Mother and Child. Beyond her own career, she maintained close ties to several cultural figures. She was the mother of composer Georg Kajanus and filmmaker Eva Norvind, the granddaughter of composer and conductor Robert Kajanus, and the grandmother of actress Nailea Norvind.
In another category, Serbian painter Ivan Tabakovic secured the Ceramics Grand Prix, highlighting the exhibition’s strong emphasis on material experimentation.
Design, Textiles, and Applied Arts
Former Bauhaus student Margaretha Reichardt received an honorary certificate for her Gobelin tapestry. Similarly, commercial artist Eva Harta, daughter of Austrian portrait painter Felix Albrecht Harta, won a silver medal for her wooden box lids decorated with applied peasant motifs. The International Jury confirmed this award in a letter dated 9 March 1938, and her uncle, Larry Heller, later corroborated the decision.
Industrial Design and Transportation
Poland also achieved notable success in industrial design. The First Factory of Locomotives in Poland Ltd. earned a gold medal for the streamlined Pm36-1 steam locomotive. In addition, Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein received another gold medal for its luxury tourist train, which featured couchette accommodation, a club carriage, and a bath-and-spa car.
Historical Significance
Ultimately, the 1937 Paris exhibition became one of the most politically charged world’s fairs of the twentieth century. While it celebrated technological progress and artistic innovation, it also exposed ideological rivalries, most visibly through the opposing German and Soviet pavilions. Consequently, the exhibition stands today not only as a showcase of modern design but also as a revealing document of interwar cultural and political tension.
Source
Wikipedia contributors. (2020, December 7). Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:36, December 17, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Exposition_Internationale_des_Arts_et_Techniques_dans_la_Vie_Moderne&oldid=992871823
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