Czechoslovakia at the World's Fairs

Behind the Façade
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-963-386-766-2
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, 300 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 594 g

Established in 1918, as a new state the First Czechoslovak Republic was keen to project a distinct image. Participation in World Fairs offered the perfect opportunity-. In this comprehensive account of Czechoslovak participation in international exhibitions of the interwar period Marta Filipová looks beyond the sleek façade of the modernist pavilions to examine the intersections of architecture, art and design with commercial interests, state agendas, individual action and the public, offering a complex insight into the production and reception of national displays.

The rich collection of images – mainly photographs – provides a close look at the Czechoslovak pavilions. The design, content and context of the displays convey an idealized narrative that was created for the fairs and the myths on which the Czechoslovak nation and state were built. Heavy machinery, modern art, tourist destinations, and food and drink were presented as Czechoslovak, while many aspects of social life – particularly women or ethnic minorities – were strikingly underrepresented or absent. The book argues that the objects and ideas that the pavilion organizers put on display legitimized and validated the existence of the new state through the inclusion and exclusion of exhibits, people, and ideas.

While Marta Filipová primarily focuses on Czechoslovakia, she also offers insights into how other emerging nations projected and sustained their image during this historical period and how interwar world’s fairs accommodated them.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Filipová, Marta

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wirtschaftsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

Chapter 1. Czechoslovakia on Display

Chapter 2. Exhibition Spaces

Chapter 3. Art and Design

Chapter 4. Commodifying the State

Chapter 5. People of the Fair

Chapter 6. Race and Ethnicity

Chapter 7. Conclusion

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Filipová, Marta
Marta Filipová is an art and design historian based at the History of Art Department, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University Brno. She specialized in exhibitionary practices, the formation of identities in the visual arts and modern art and design in Central Europe.