PARIS 1937
Jean Carlu
Jean Carlu: PARIS 1937 [Arts et Techniques International Exhibition May – November]. Paris: Imp. M. Dechaux for the French Government, n. d. [1937]. Original edition. Slim quarto. Single-fold brochure. 4 pp. Elaborate graphic design with cover design credited to Jean Carlu. Rear panel scraped along fold, otherwise a fine fresh copy.
5 x 8 single-fold brochure touting the wonders of the 1937 Paris International Exposition. The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (International Exposition dedicated to Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from May 25 to November 25 1937 in Paris, with the Musée de l'Homme and the Palais de Tokyo, which houses the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, were created for this exhibition.
The Spanish pavilion attracted attention as the exposition took place during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish pavilion was built by the Spanish architect Josep Lluis Sert. The pavilion, set up by the Republican government, included Pablo Picasso's famous painting Guernica, a depiction of the horrors of war, Alexander Calder's sculpture Mercury Fountain and Joan Miró's painting Catalan peasant in revolt.
Two of the other notable pavilions were those of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The organization of the world exhibition had placed the German and the Soviet pavilions directly across from each other. Hitler had desired to withdraw from participation, but his architect Albert Speer convinced him to participate after all, showing Hitler his plans for the German pavilion. Speer later revealed in his autobiographies that he had had a clandestine look at the plans for the Soviet pavilion, and had designed the German pavilion to represent a bulwark against Communism.
The preparation and construction of the exhibits were plagued by delay. On the opening day of the exhibition, only the German and the Soviet pavilions had been completed. This, as well as the fact that the two pavilions faced each other, turned the exhibition into a competition between the two great ideological rivals.
Jean Carlu (1900 – 1997) originally began training as an architect but turned to commercial art after an accident in which he lost his right arm. During the 1920’s and 1930’s he was a leading figure in French poster design. Along with A. M. Cassandre and Paul Colin, Carlu translated the influence of Cubism into symbolic and architectonic imagery. In 1937, he was chairman of the Graphic Publicity Section of the Paris International Exhibition. He came to the United States to organize an exhibition at the New York World’s Fair, for the French Information Service. He remained here when Paris was captured by the Germans. It was during his time in the US the he designed one of his most famous posters - “America’s Answer! Production” This poster won him a New York Art Directors medal as well as being voted poster of the year. He also designed work for Container Corporation of America and Pan American Airways. In 1953, he returned to France and continued his work as a poster designer and consultant for many companies, including Air France and Firestone France. He was the International President of AGI from 1945 to 1956 and retired in 1974. [Erin K. Malone]