The 1939 New York World's Fair: Into the Exhibits with Dr. Jennie Hirsh
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Launching black-and-white television, fluorescent lights, Salvador Dali's Dream of Venus Pavilion, and the famous “Futurama” exhibit, the 1939 New York World’s Fair manifested its slogan, “Dawn of a New Day”, for over 40 million visitors. But it was no easy feat.
Masterminded by a team of New York businessman to propel the country out of a Great Depression, this Seminar will provide an in-depth visit–through photographs, plans, maps, diagrams, and short films–of the many fascinating national pavilions that put forward great achievements and scientific advancements of the time. We will also consider the various political tensions and logistical challenges that emerged during and between the fair's two separate seasons, in 1939 and 1940 respectively, as World War II unfolded across the Atlantic.
Led by an expert on modern and contemporary art, Dr. Jennie Hirsh, this interactive seminar will offer a virtual visit back in time to the 1939 World's Fair, built atop a site that had been an ash dump. Designed to inform curiosity, participants will come away with an increased understanding of the planning, execution, and challenges of this memorable world's fair as well as exposure to the exhibits, restaurants, and other forms of entertainment that it provided.
This conversation is part of a series on World's Fairs with Dr. Jennie Hirsh. Each session is designed as a stand-alone seminar as well as part of the series:
Jennie Hirsh (Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College) is a Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has held postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton and Columbia Universities, as well as pre-doctoral fellowships from the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, the U.S. Fulbright Commission, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Wolfsonian FIU. Hirsh has authored essays on artists including Giorgio de Chirico, Giorgio Morandi, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Yinka Shonibare, and Regina Silveira, and is co-editor, with Isabelle Wallace, of Contemporary Art and Classical Myth (Ashgate 2011).
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
This seminar was outstanding! It was the perfect addition to my special birthday. Jennie’s seminar really made you feel like you actually visited the fair.
Dr. Hirsh never fails to deliver. Her seminars are on diverse topics but are always well researched and contain interesting stories and facts and great visuals. I have taken many of her seminars and courses and have enjoyed every one.
This talk about the 1939 New York World’s fair was fascinating. We were shown pavilions, exhibits and videos from the actual shows at the fair. When the session was over, I felt like I had spent a day at Flushing Meadows in 1939.I