World's Fair Postcards

I went to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts this past friday. One of the temporary exhibits they had on display was "The Postcard Age." It's really cool. If you are around the Boston area, check it out. I only took four photos there. But oddly enough, three of the four photos, 75% of the photos, were of world's fairs. I haven't thought about it enough, but I am certainly attracted to the aesthetics, personality, and characteristics of the world's fair. Maybe its the grandeur, the international togetherness, the cultural exhibitions, the themes, the technological inventions, the extremely optimistic and progressive thinking, I don't know. It's something though. One of my favorite Disney attractions, the Carousel of Progress, was introduced at the 1964 New York World's Fair. (Other Disney Attractions introduced at the 1964 New York World's Fair include: It's a Small World; Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, now Hall of Presidents; and an early prototype of the Peoplemover.) As much as I love imperfection, nature, and authenticity; I also love the science and technology utopian. Ah, such a clash of interest.

Anyways, here are the postcards I photographed:

Exposition Universelle of 1900, Paris. The bright colors are made by shining light through tissue paper.

A Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago, 1933.

1939 New York World's Fair

This is the non-world's fair photo I took. It's of the women's and bicycle movement. I've always liked the bicycle as an analogy for liberation.