Urso Chappell’s ExpoMuseum Blog: April 2008

22 April 2008

Expo x Expos

I received my copy of the BIE's Progression Magazine today and was
pleased to discover that an exhibition, Expo x Expos, will be
traveling around the world and visiting Madrid, Lisbon, Zaragoza (host of Expo 2008,
Brussels, Paris, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Nagoya, Osaka, and
London. It is currently showing at the Triennale in Milan (which will host Expo 2015. Apparently,
in 2010, the exhibit will move from London, host of the first world's
fair
to Shanghai, the host of Expo 2010.

I'm hoping to find out more information about this exhibition,
particularly its United States dates.

It would be wonderful if this exhibition could create renewed
awareness of the Bureau International des Expositions in the USA so
that we can re-join the organization.

At the very least, I can imagine it helping springboard San
Francisco's entry into the AVE, the Association of Cities and Regions
Hosting an International Exposition.

18 April 2008

The Expo Book, Chapter 3 Now Available



Chapter 3 of The Expo Book is now available to download from TheExpoBook.com. Chapters 1 and 2 are also still available.

Chapter 4 will soon be published by IPM Magazine.

U.S. Department of State Signs Letter of Intent for World Expo Shanghai 2010

The U.S. State Department has announced they've signed a letter of intent to create a U.S. Pavilion at Shanghai's Expo 2010:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/apr/103770.htm

It'll be interesting to see what happens since, unlike most other countries, government money can't be used in the planning, construction, or hosting of a U.S. Pavilion. From the original request for proposals last year, I understand that about 100 million dollars will need to be found from sponsoring organizations in order to make this happen.

With only two years to go before the opening of Expo 2010, that's a lot of work to get done in a very short period of time.

The planning for other similarly sized pavilions (such as the United Kingdoms' pavilion) have been well under way for a while, so it's going to be a challenge to have the paint dry and doors open by 01 May 2008.

09 April 2008

48 Hours in Zaragoza

Britain's The Independent published a great short video guide to Zaragoza, Spain and someone was kind enough to cut it into two parts and post it to YouTube.

With so many readers planning to attend Expo 2008, I thought I'd share it here.

Part 1:


Part 2:

08 April 2008

The Expo Book, Chapter 1 Now Available



Chapter 1 of The Expo Book is now available to download from TheExpoBook.com. Chapter 2 is also still available.

Chapter 3 will soon be published by IPM Magazine.

07 April 2008

1964-'65 New York State Pavilion Renovation

I remember the first time I visited Flushing Meadows, the site of New York's 1939-'40 and 1964-'65 World's Fairs, I was disappointed that the New York State Pavilion, designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster, was in such a sad state. That was 1989. When I last visited, in 2006, it was much, much worse. It looks like things might change soon, at least for the big map floor:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/nyregion/07map.html

I'd love to see the whole structure renovated. There was talk, a few years ago, of enclosing the original tent area and turning it into an air and space museum.

Incidentally, I do have to take issue with the project's web site when it claims "The New York World’s Fair was one of the last international expositions. No longer relevant as a way to bring the world to the public, the Fair as event and construction is obsolete."

Since the last New York World's Fair closed in 1965, there have been sixteen world's fairs with one opening in a matter of weeks (Expo 2008), and three more in the next eight years (Expo 2010, Expo 2012, and Expo 2015).

04 April 2008

International Exposition Identity and Branding

In January 2008, I was invited to guest lecture a graphic design class at Cal Poly Pomona. The class project is to study the history of Olympic games identity. Each student then creates a branding strategy for an Olympic bid.

I spoke about the history of international expositions and their identity and branding strategies since 1958.

Here were the supporting visuals (with no audio):