Exposition Universelle

“ The useful and the beautiful, the products of skill and of industry, of the studio, the factory, the field and the mart, are here blended happily together, for the inspection of the curious and the study of the thoughtful. Such exhibitions are of the greatest value to all classes of the people. They instruct and inspire. They suggest new ideas. They diffuse a better knowledge of the natural resources of the country, and of the methods, industries and progress of its people. The Exposition, therefore, needs no orator. It speaks for itself. It is its own advocate and eulogist. ”

“ The Architecture
It is generally conceded that the essential lesson of the Exposition is the lesson of art. However strongly the industrial element may have asserted itself in the many interesting exhibits, no matter how extensive the appeal of the applied sciences may be, the final and lasting effect will be found in the great and enduring lesson of beauty which the Exposition so unforgetably teaches. ”

“ However that may be, the industrial competition to which, in the last analysis, the Exposition owes its inception, is pushing many aside from the beaten highways into hitherto unexplored regions of thought and endeavor, and who is to say that we may not in consequence find a direction quite at right angles to all of our wonted ways of thinking. Certainly there could be no more fitting occasion for the launching of a new thought-form than a great international exposition. ”

“ Given at the Opening of the Exposition
O God of our Fathers, in Whose power are the destinies of men, in Whose hands are the ends of the world, look down with loving-kindness on Thy children here gathered in Thy Name. From the uttermost bounds of the earth have we come to commemorate one of man's greatest achievements adown the ages. Make us, Thy children, realize that Thou art the source of light and of inspiration; make us realize that great things are wrought through Thee alone. ”

“ Of all the courts, it has the most inviting feeling of seclusion. The plain body of water in the center, without statuary of any kind, is most effective as a mirror reflecting the play of lights and shadows, which are so important an asset in this enchanting retreat. During the Exposition it will serve as a recreation center for many people who will linger in the seclusion of the groups of shrubbery and watch the shadows of the afternoon sun creep slowly up the surrounding walls. ”

“ It was proper, therefore, that our State, in its dignity, with its conservatism and with its intense patriotism, should be among the first to contribute of its means to make of this Exposition the grand success which it promises. With each succeeding international exposition the world becomes wiser, artisans more skillful, the contributions to science and art more valuable; in a word, they raise the standard of civilization and hasten the time when all men shall pay homage to the ruler of the universe. ”

“ If, at times, directly or in indirectly, I have been critical, the reason is that I wished, in so far as I could, to persuade visitors not to swallow the Exposition whole, but to think about it for themselves, and to bear in mind that the men behind it, those of today and those of days remote, were human beings exactly like themselves, and to draw from it all they could in the way of genuine benefit. ”

“ The plastic and pictorial decoration of an Exposition offer unusual opportunity to the Artist, at the same time imposing handicaps - the briefness of time, the poverty of material. It affords chances for experiment, invention, and originality only limited by the necessary formal settings of the architecture, out of proportion to the initiative of the artists, a majority of whom prefer, either from inclination or necessity, to take the safe course, the beaten path of precedent. Artists are of two kinds - the Imitators and the Innovators. ”

“ I think the great Exposition which you are soon to see may give you a liberalizing hint. There, the industry of all nations will be exhibited. All are bent, honestly and earnestly, upon one point,—the development of the human energies in that direction. ”

“ You have here an Exposition of which you may be justly proud. Nothing like it has ever been known in the annals of the world. Skilled workmen from all parts of the earth are here to aid in its success. ”

“ The Universal Exposition of 1904, when the date of opening rolls around one year from to-day, will, with its buildings completed, its exhibits installed, be thoroughly prepared to receive the millions of visitors who will enter its gates. The distinguished assemblage which honors us with its presence to-day can come nearer forming an adequate conception of the scope of the work by personal inspection than through the writings or illustrations of authors and designers, however great their talent may be. ”

“ Enterprises of all kinds have been encouraged. The result was shown in the Exposition 160 of two years ago, when there was collected in this city such a display of the products of all lands, as the world had never seen. ”

“ Any city-builder, by the respectful use of the great fundamental principles of balance, harmony, and unity, cannot help but do on a large scale what the Exposition presents in a more condensed fashion. ”

“ The visitor is at once stirred by the many manifestations of art, presented so harmoniously by the architect, the sculptor, the landscape architect, and the painter-decorator, and his attention is kept throughout by artistic appeals at every turn. It must be said in the very start that few will realize what is the simple truth - that artistically this is probably the most successful exposition ever created. ”

“ This handbook is designed to furnish the information necessary for intelligent appreciation of the purely artistic features of the Exposition. It is planned first to explain the symbolism of the architecture, sculpture and painting; and second, to point out the special qualities that give each artistic unit its individual appeal. It is made for the intelligent observer who, having enjoyed the purely aesthetic impression of the various works of art, feels a legitimate curiosity about their meaning. ”

“ No small part of the value of an educational exhibit lies in its esthetic quality, since this reveals not less clearly than the methods and results of school training the inherent genius of a people. This International Exposition has been rich in this quality, on account both of the number of different nations participating and the care taken by each to give distinctive character to its display. ”

“ The exhibitions at this Exposition are not the haphazard gatherings of convenient material, but the outline of a plan to illustrate the productiveness of mankind at this particular time, carefully digested, thoroughly thought out, and conscientiously executed. The exhibit, therefore, in each of the departments of the classification, as well as in the groups of the different departments, are of such character, and so arranged as to reflect the best that the world can do along departmental lines, and the best that different peoples can do along group lines. ”

“ While many books have been written descriptive of the Exposition, none has succeeded in accounting completely for the joy we have in yonder miracle of beauty. And this through no fault of the writers. When all has been said concerning plan and execution there is still a subtle something not spatialized for consciousness. Length, breadth, and height do not suffice to set forth the ways of our delight in it. ”

“ We have here combined in brilliant variety the charms and beauties of garden, forest, lake and stream, embellished by these splendid structures, forming an harmonious whole certainly not equaled by any former Exposition. All credit is due the President and Directors, whose intelligence and untiring labors have conquered all obstacles and brought this World's Fair to a most auspicious and successful opening. ”

“ The measure of the value of an international exposition is determined by the number of important countries represented by exhibits, the characteristics and comprehensive nature of these exhibits, or the excellence in quality according to the standards of the countries from which they come. ”

“ THE GREAT WORLD’S FAIR.—Being a Complete History of the Stupendous Exposition that will be Thrown Open in 1893, when the Peopled World Will be Called Upon to View the Progress of the Future Metropolis—How the Exposition will be Opened in the Fall of the Present Year—The Colossal Buildings and Their Contents—Hints for the Wayfarer to Follow in His Strolls About the City During Fair Time. ”

“ Hand in hand, however, with such occupation should go the cultivation of the taste for the beautiful, and an abounding conviction that man is his brother's keeper and has an inalienable obligation to better the condition of his fellows.
The International Exposition whose dedication you honor by your presence, was conceived in an effort to commemorate a great achievement which has proven a potent factor in increasing our wealth and sustaining our institutions and perpetuating our independence. ”

“ In reality, though, this charnel-house was the sculptors' studio, in which were modelled the gigantic figures which were to be placed on the buildings and about the grounds.
Now were I to design a model for a statue to be placed in the Exposition, it would certainly be one of my excellent and entertaining companion, who proved himself a model conductor, a model of an American gentleman, and one who is justly proud, as [Pg 81] all Americans must be, of the greatness and thoroughness of the most splendid and most interesting Exhibition ever recorded in the annals of their great country. ”

“ More than one hundred and fifty international congresses, dealing with various subjects of scientific, industrial and social importance, are held this summer in Paris, and form no small part of the interest of the Exposition, supplementing as they do the exhibits, furnishing the theory, as the exhibits set forth the accomplishments, of art and industry. ”

“ That exposition is intended to be the most important and comprehensive of the long series of international exhibitions, of which our own at Chicago was a brilliant example, and it is desirable that the United States should make a worthy exhibit of American genius and skill and their unrivaled achievements in every branch of industry. ”

“ The arrangement of the galleries should be mastered before one starts to study. In general there are three divisions of exhibits. At each end is a group of foreign sections, and the great middle space is given up to American art. ”

“ One who likes a gentle, polished sort of art will not be at home here; but for virile, fresh and colorful painting there is no other section that achieves the same high standard. Many of the pictures are so strong and big that they never should have been put in these box-like little rooms, where a proper perspective is impossible. In the paintings there are traces of French and German training, and especially of Impressionism; but the exhibit shows more true national feeling and more individual independence than any other in the building. ”

“ These exhibits represent in concrete form the artistic and industrial development of this country, and in viewing them one cannot but be impressed with the great improvement in the conditions affecting our material and physical welfare and with the corresponding advancement in our intellectual and esthetic life. ”

“ The expositions held in our country have celebrated great epochs of our advancement, and they will be pointed out to future generations as evidences of the onward march of a people unparalleled in the history of the human race. ”

“ In conclusion, I would say that the Louisiana Purchase Exposition markedly showed the setting aside by women of former traditions and her expansion into a new life, where, though by no means giving up the ornamental and social, she has yet demonstrated her rights to be recognized in the broader and more useful fields of discovery, investigation, and invention in art, science, and industry. She is everywhere the rival of man, everywhere entering with enthusiasm his chosen paths, excepting perhaps in naval and military operations, and as nurse and ministering doctor she is even there. ”

“ Now is the time to prepare for a great Exhibition—an Exhibition worthy of the greatness of this country, not merely national in its scope and benefits, but comprehensive of the whole world; and I offer myself to the public as their leader, if they are willing to assist in the undertaking. ”

“ When The Fine Art Society’s Exhibition was first planned the intention was to confine it to samplers, which, in themselves, formed a class sufficiently large to occupy all the space which experience showed should be allotted to them in any display with which it was not desired to weary the visitor. ”

“ An exhibition, as I have already insisted, is but a small part of the Arts & Crafts movement, which is a movement in the main of ideas and not of objets d'art, & there is a danger in the constant repetition of exhibitions, civic, national, and international, of public attention being diverted from the movement of ideas, & action thereupon, to the mere production and exhibition of exhibits. ”

“ The reception given to it having so far justified our plea for the due recognition of the arts and crafts of design, and our belief in their fundamental importance—the amount of public interest and support accorded to the Exhibition having, in fact, far exceeded our anticipations, it was determined to hold a second on the same lines, and to endeavour to carry out, with more completeness than was at first found possible, those principles of work, ideas, and aims in art for which we contended, and to make the Exhibition a rallying point, as it were, for all sympathetic workers. ”