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| Impressions of Paris (the international Exposition) Gustavs Klucis, Artist | |
| The great success and interest that the international exposition in Paris can take pride in has been attained as a result of the victory over fascism by the people’s front. It is no secret that whilst this grandiose exposition was being built and organised, the fascist press in france itself, as well as in germany and italy, did everything it could to disrupt the organisation of the exposition. covert and blatant sabotage, lies, slander and the dissemination of all kinds of rumours in the press, in other words, all possible means were put into action with great energy. that is why the french communist Party, the general confederation of labour, the trade union association and the socialist Party issued the slogan: “the exposition must be won, like victory in battle”. in this struggle, the people’s front won. the exposition was opened and has become immensely popular throughout the world. I was sent to the international exposition, as an artist, to work on the soviet Pavilion. in Paris i constructed a large decorative panel ‘8th extraordinary all-union congress of soviets’ for the first hall of the pavilion, and directed the installation of 20 various other works in the other halls of our pavilion. After the opening of the pavilion, when the most intensive period of work had finished, i made use of every free minute to view, take in and digest the rich array of artistic and cultural treasures that Paris has to offer. and during those 11⁄2 months that i spent in Paris, i really did get to see a great deal. in getting to know the Paris exposition, it was as if i became acquainted with the art and technology of all 50 countries represented there. The exposition is a whole town unto itself which has sprung up in the centre of Paris, along both banks of the seine, from the Pont de grenelle up to the Pont de concorde. the pavilions extend along both banks of the seine for a distance of 14 kilometres, and for just as many kilometres along the main side streets. France has represented its colonies with whole neighbourhoods, towns, tropical forests, and their indigenous inhabitants and animals. here you can see tunisia, morocco, algeria, india and indochina, just as they are in real life. you may walk through a town in africa, and in some language that you cannot understand will be invited to view the bob-azuma gate and the courtyard of a caravanserai. but in order that you should truly sense and understand the unique spirit of algeria, you are drawn into an algerian restaurant... | |
 Gustavs Klucis. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. 1937 Kat. I Cat. 211 Publicity photo Courtesy of the Latvian National Museum of Art | |
| In a largish square you can see the main pavilions of the french republic: each has something distinctive, setting it apart from all the rest. in another square, a medieval town has been built in its entirety, with castles, streets, squares, and with the people who lived at that time. there are 350 pavilions of the greatest variety. of these, france alone has 200 pavilions. the numerous gates of the exposition are Serviced by 100 bus and metro lines. The huge influx of visitors has meant that the security cordon Which is there to maintain order had to be doubled. inside the pavilions the visitors must all move in the same direction from one hall to the next, so as to prevent jostling. Before looking at the individual pavilions, i wish to enter the exposition through the main gate which leads to the main area of the exposition. this is the entrance at the trocadéro. we arrive at a large open area. from here, a grand panorama opens up in front of us, beginning with the trocadéro Palace and reaching as far as the military academy. it includes the trocadéro gardens and also the jena bridge and its surroundings with the eiffel tower and the champ de mars. directly in front, beneath us, is an avenue of fountains. there’s about 200 of them, and they are arranged gradually sloping down towards the seine. the open area on which we stand is the site where, prior to the exposition, there stood a large, ugly palace. it blocked the beautiful panorama towards the seine and its banks, for which reason it was wiped from the face of the earth or, to be more precise, it was sunk beneath the ground. now it is an underground auditorium for an audience of 3500 and the largest stage in the world. this is where, during the exposition, 600 international congresses are to be held on a great variety of themes relating to technology and the arts. The trocadéro square, beneath which lies the subterranean theatre, offers a wonderful view across the whole of the central section of the exposition, where a good many of the foreign pavilions are laid out, enclosed by beautiful gardens and water features. And behold, in the middle of this beautiful central ensemble, the ussr Pavilion rises imposingly. cheerfully it stands on the bank of the seine, at the intersection of the exposition’s main thoroughfares. at the very top - a young man and a girl, the stakhanovites, as if soaring in companionable flight over the pavilion. it is an exemplar of the new humanity which has conquered for itself everything that the visitor can see within the pavilion. high above their heads, they proudly hold the emblem of labour: the sickle and the hammer. The sculpture by Vera mukhina, and also the whole pavilion, built after a design by the architect iofan, display our current style of new soviet architecture, and express the notion of a country that has shaken off the yoke of capitalism, where human society is based on liberated labour. In terms of area, our pavilion is the largest of all and covers about 3000 square metres. in front of the entrance, on both sides, there are bas-reliefs by the sculptor chaikov. these are dedicated to the 11 republics of the union. The halls of our pavilion have already been described at some length in issue no. 6-7 of Celtne. here i would only like to mention once more their immense ‘force of attraction’. there are always throngs of people outside, wishing to enter the pavilion. occasionally the administration has to close the gates for a while, since the pavilion cannot receive all the would-be visitors at once. the visitor register shows that on some days the number of visitors has reached 100 thousand. it has also been established that our pavilion has received 3 times as many visitors as the pavilions of germany and italy put together. the interest in our country and our achievements is truly great. anonymous hands are constantly placing fresh flowers at the base of the sculptures of lenin and stalin. At the centre of the pavilion there is a book in which visitors can write their impressions. and look, this book contains thousands of inscriptions in a variety of languages, with congratulations to the land of socialism. | |
 Gustavs Klucis. 1937 Publicity photo Courtesy of the Latvian National Museum of Art | |
| This book is a truthful and splendid document, showing the immense sympathy felt towards our land by the millions of workers in all parts of the globe. likewise our films, performances by the theatre of art, and the shows put on by the red army song and dance ensemble are received with keen interest. The german Pavilion stands directly opposite the soviet pavilion, and presents a marked contrast with its sombre and unimpressive appearance. it is more reminiscent of a crematorium. all the exhibits look like goods that have been brought from a department store. At the centre of the pavilion there is a racing car. art, if indeed it can be called that, is represented by some stylised mosaics and deplorable artistic panels praising the fascist regime. the only interesting thing here is the skill in printing colourful paintings. but that’s not an achievement of fascism, of course – it’s the technology of pre-war germany. The italian Pavilion is notable for its cynicism. in many paintings imitating the old masters, fascist aggression is deified in the most shameless manner. besides, mussolini is depicted as if continuing the conquests of the great military leaders of rome. in a large painting divided into two parts – upper and lower – mussolini appears on a white horse, holding a sword, with the abyssinians on their knees before him. on the other side there are figures in roman dress, identified as Verdi, garibaldi and leonardi. fascist italy itself has nothing to boast about, and so it shows its ancestors, and even strives - without shame or reason - to ‘pass itself off’ as continuing the achievements of these truly great people. The spanish Pavilion leaves a strong impression. this small, unobtrusive pavilion displays the social and cultural achievements of the republic of spain. here, arranged with great love and care, are materials characterising a courageous people defending its freedom and independence from the fascists and interventionists. here we see the activeness of the madrid house of culture: the spanish art of printing, painting, sculpture and graphic art. alongside these works we see amateur folk art: woven textiles, playthings, lace, etc. The british Pavilion lies on the other bank of the seine, opposite the soviet Pavilion. the pavilion is in two storeys. the exhibits include english furniture and household utensils; a kitchen, bedroom and dining room are all furnished according to the english fashion. the latest achievements of english printing works. indeed, there is much to be learned here. there are ten stands with examples of book bindings. Porcelain and glass. The american Pavilion stands ten storeys tall, reminiscent of the skyscrapers of new york. at night the pavilion’s enormous tower is lit up by a system of searchlights, their light blue beams criss-crossing each other at a height of 2000 metres. the most interesting is a plan and model of the world fair, which is to open in america in 1939. the art on display is not interesting. The australian Pavilion is lost among the southern plants and mimosa bushes. rare species of fish have been brought together in an aquarium. there are very interesting collections of precious stones: opals, sapphires, etc. The monaco Pavilion is distinctive for the complete absence of exhibits. clearly, in this world of gambling there really is nothing else to show other than a model of monte carlo, that iniquitous den of gambling. Latvia, estonia and lithuania are in the one pavilion. here we have three halls and a shared common foyer. On the floor in the middle of the little latvian hall there is a small flowerbed. by the entrance - a portrait of ulmanis1. on the opposite wall, there is a lifeless, pink-blue coloured painting by liberts2, depicting a group of people with outstretched hands. as if in entreaty, or confessing their sins. on the wall there is something like a bas-relief: a pig, a barrel, flax and a stylised female figure. the whole room is in semi-darkness, because although the windows are large, they are decorated with stained glass, like the windows of a medieval church, though the mosaic is meant to contain local subject matter. handicrafts, embroidery, brooches, belts, scarves and disagreeably modernised furniture3. busts of various people. dishes in mock national style. the whole hall leaves a somewhat dismal impression. not a single independent, fresh idea. There are many other countries with interesting pavilions, but it is impossible to stop by them all. | |
 Gustavs Klucis. Soviet Pavilion at the International Exposition in Paris. 1937 Kat. I Cat. 205 Publicity photo Courtesy of the Latvian National Museum of Art | |
| The french Pavilions. out of 200 french pavilions, 24 are devoted to various provinces. 15 pavilions (or complexes), which are like towns in their own right, hold collections of exhibits from the french colonies. The most noteworthy of the french pavilions, without any doubt, is the ‘Palace of inventions’. its purpose is to summarise the achievements made so far in the realm of technical progress. this, too, has been described at some length in the previously-mentioned issue of Celtne. Here i will only speak of something which was not mentioned in the article. one of the most outstanding exhibits, the subject of universal interest, is a man made of glass. all the human internal organs are clearly visible and, what is the most wonderful, these organs are actually functioning. you can see blood coursing along the arteries and veins, the heart beating, the lungs working, etc. it is an exceptionally interesting exhibit. the movement of the solar system is likewise interesting. beneath the high ceiling, all the planets revolve around the sun on their orbits. in amazement you gaze at the panorama of constellations, the fabulous spirals of nebulae, the vast milky way. The façade of the Palace of light has been turned into an enormous screen for showing films. this screen is visible from a great distance. here there are many exhibits that characterise achievements in electro-technology. inside the space there is an enormous fresco, measuring 60 x 10 metres. the fresco depicts the history of electricity from its discovery up to the present day. the visitor sees the thinkers and scientists who have promoted the progress of humanity. here they have demonstrations of lighting technology and its practical applications in a most diverse range of situations. rising above the ‘Palace of light’ is the world’s most powerful lighthouse, which in its capacity is ten times stronger than the most powerful of all the lighthouses currently in use. The Palace of light is particularly impressive and wonderful. it is an enormous exhibition of the greatest variety of colours. here they have gathered together the most diverse colourful materials, astonishing in their magnificence and richness of colour, and also with their fine, barely perceptible colour nuances. In its external shape, the Pavilion of aviation resembles the front of an aeroplane cockpit. here we have the latest engines and models of machines. the history of aviation is depicted. In the Pavilion of glass everything is transparent. everything in it is made of glass, the walls with their narrow steel frames, and likewise the floor and ceiling. even the staircase is made of glass, and you walk on it with a sense of trepidation, since the glass bends under your feet. it is some kind of flexible glass. The Pavilion of cold. a pillar of real snow rises above the pavilion, to a height of 32 metres. it does not melt in the sun, despite the hot summer weather in Paris. this pillar is a masterpiece of refrigeration technology. it has been set up something like this: powerful radiators, through which a cooling liquid circulates, freeze the moisture in the air and turn it into snow. Visitors to this pavilion can skate or ski on real ice or snow, under the burning rays of the sun. genuine fluffy snow is falling. the application of refrigeration in everyday life is also demonstrated. The Pavilion of Printing is located right next to the eiffel tower. the development of typographic technology is shown here, from gutenberg up to the present day. the major french newspapers are on display. a large section is devoted to lithography, illustrations, art publications, engraving, etc. It is impossible to touch on, even in just a few words, the hundreds of other pavilions, such as the railway, aluminium, bronze pavilions, etc., etc.; i haven’t even mentioned art here, which occupies an significant place in the exposition. a huge pavilion has been built for the fine arts, where i was able to see represented all the current ultra-left movements currently in existence. these would require an article in their own right, as would the museums and Paris itself. On the subject of the pavilions, i would also like to mention the lighting and the fountains. the most wonderful things of all in the exposition are the fireworks, and the harmonious combination of fireworks and fountains. on both sides of the jena bridge, near our pavilion and the eiffel tower, powerful fountains shoot up into the air from the river seine. hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of lamps, rockets and fireworks have been placed in the water. the fountains shoot very high into the air, and by means of special devices are given various forms: rays, stars, etc., lit up in the most fantastical ways. it seems at times as if an immense disaster had struck, as if the water had caught fire and was rushing up into the sky like a tremendous avalanche, like a volcanic eruption. after that, it all crumbles away into fine sand and light projectors set up in other areas create the illusion that somewhere from the gardens of Versailles, or from the houses, fantastic massive shapes are rising, travelling along zigzag and parabolic lines, and disappearing again somewhere beyond the horizon. I will never forget the illumination of the eiffel tower. how the 300 metre high tower flashes like lightning. the light is so bright, that it seems - it can be seen in the whole of france. it is illuminated by thousands of floodlights simultaneously. it is lit up by turns in green, yellow, blue, purple, red and white. narrow rays of light stretch out in all directions from its very foundations, like a fan, fading to invisibility at a great height. sometimes you are simply unable to look at it any longer, and you want to shout: enough! each pavilion, each tower, colonnade and façade is snatched from the blackness of the night by means of a complicated system of lighting. A chandelier was lit in the great hall of Trocadéro Palace. there isn’t a larger chandelier than this in the world: its installation required 72 kilometres of electric cable. when it is turned on, the light is brighter than the sunniest day out in the street. And there are more and more surprising lighting combinations, systems and effects that Paris has on display. it is only a shame that such a magnificent creation of light has not yet been put at the service of all great and genuine humankind. Translator into English: Valdis Bērziņš 1 karlis ulmanis was Prime minister (1934-1940) and state President of the republic of latvia (1936-1940). 2 the author of both the portrait of ulmanis and the painting a united nation in united work (Vienotā tauta vienotā darbā) was ludolfs liberts. 3 klucis objected to the stylisation of ethnographical elements in the modern furniture designed by architect haralds kundziņš. | |
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