The article „World of Tomorrow“ by Stuart Davis is about a Davis's description of the 1939 New York World's Fair. He expressed his view on it in Harper's Bazaar. His gouache on paper called Impression of the New York World's Fair, 1939. was in the magazine in February 1939. The size of the gouache is 32,4 x 56 cm. It predicts the future, which was not known at the time.
America's world's fair was meant to show in which direction the nation was headed and how they would prosper. The whole nation was eager to see the economical and cultural prosperity since 1935. Davis was a painter with a vision. His synthetic cubism was „embodied the concept of progress as a human endeavor“ (Harrison 96).
„The fair's fundamental philosophical purpose - to demonstrate that people could work together to shape their destiny in positive and progressive ways – was a notion that Davis embraced“ (Harrison 96). He predicted what the real world of tomorrow would bring in his art.
Davis was chosen along with more than a hundred other painters and sculptors to work on the visual image of the fair. His task was to work on decorating the main pavilions.
„The focal point of the vast fairgrounds was the Theme Center, composed of a towering triangular pylon and giant globe known as the Trylon and Perisphere“ (Harrison 96).
It is important to keep that in mind when thinking about the reasons why Davis chose to depict them in a different way in his gouache. He was thinking about importance and he depicted the objects and themes in his own way. The Theme Center was futuristic and it became the symbol of the fair. However, Davis gave it less power in his interpretation.
Davis was most interested in means of mass communication. He believed it would shape modern civilization and he was right about it. He also paid attention to pre-electronic means of communication, but his main focus was to emphasize what the future technology would bring.
Davis was observing directly and it inspired him more than using general and historical information. He believed in progress but he still depicted the Trylon and Perisphere as minor elements. It had a psychological effect. The symbol of the fair was present, but it didn't dominate. He didn't allow it. However anyone who new that those symbols were significant could still see them in the gouache and it would make them wonder why they were minimized in Davis's interpretation. That could have been his idea also – to intrigue the audience and to point out the less obvious while putting the dominant elements aside.
There was no sign of any government symbols that represented the USA. „Features that would later captivate the public, like the Soviet Union's monument to the proletariat, Italy's waterfall facade, and Poland's gilded tower, were ignored by Davis in favor of symbols of American consumerism“ (Harrison 99).
What Davis depicted was the way the visitors later felt. He wasn't paying much attention to order, but to the overall effect the whole fair would have on the audience. He highlighted the theme of consumerism, but he still didn't pay attention to the enormous General Motors Pavilion, which was very interesting to the visitors.
Davis's interpretation of the fair did match the actual outcome of its effects. America was headed toward a prosperous future.
Works cited
Harrison, Helen A. „World of Tomorrow.“ American Art, Vol. 9. No. 3 (Autumn, 1995), pp. 96-100. Web.
