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Shadow Fair:
The Unfinished Business
of The World of Tomorrow

Part 1 —
Worlds Within The 1939–40
New York World’s Fair

  1. Historical Resonance (1939–40 and 
    2019–20)
  2. Thematic Structures
  3. Substance and Shadow: Business as Usual
  4. Material World

Part 2 —
Future Imperfect: Indelible Shadows

  1. (More) Unfinished Business:
    Structures of The American Psyche
  2. It’s a Man’s World
  3. Brave Face
  4. The Unfinished World of Tomorrow, Redux

Part 3 —
Persuasive Mechanics: “Let us sell America to Americans”

  1. Soft Power and Spectacle
  2. Design Makes the Future Its Business
  3. The Works Progress Administration (WPA)
  4. Designing Futures, Then and Now

Part 4 —
Art and Design: Critical Response

  1. From Research to Response
  2. Activating the Archive: A Critical Synthesis
  3. Curation, Exhibition, Programming: Models and Forms
  4. Notes
Mark


Part 2 examines some of America’s more indelible shadows via the Fair’s documents, tracing cultural tensions in skewed representations of race, gender, and disability; struggles with labor and morality; and hints of international discord that still persist. Within the shiny spectacle of the Fair, records show moments of friction and political consciousness that prefigure those of our present day. The archive reveals how selected images and events provoke resounding historical echo.