#expo '70

[obsessedbyneon]

H e l l o . . .

[lurxv]

Sanyo Healthy Capsule at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan

[gameraboy2]

Expo '70 in Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)

[sheltiechicago]

Expo ’70, 1967, Yūsaku Kamekura

In 1970, after the positive international response to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Japan hosted its first World Expo, attracting a record 64 million visitors. Kamekura’s winning design for the official poster for overseas use depicts his minimalist, geometric interpretation of the five petals of a cherry blossom – a culturally resonant symbol of Japan, prized for its ephemeral beauty

Photograph: The Merrill C Berman Collection

[longlistshort]

As part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide, The Getty is highlighting the incredible work created by the engineers and artists that made up the group Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T). The exhibition focuses on the history of the group and two of its most ambitious projects- 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering (1966) and the Pepsi Pavilion from Expo ’70 in Japan.

From the museum-

In 1966, engineers Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer and artists Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman founded Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting collaborations between artists, engineers, and scientists. These partnerships brought disparate fields together, bridging the gap between culture and emerging technology. E.A.T.’s debut event, 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering (1966), integrated art, theatre, and engineering at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, resulting in a technology-aided performance experience that proved to be a launchpad for artistic exploration. Their second major project, the Pepsi-Cola Pavilion at Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan (1970), presented a multisensory environment featuring experiments with sound, light, lasers, a mirrored dome, and fog. Through their collaborations, E.A.T. artists and engineers came to believe that such team efforts could benefit society; subsequent multidisciplinary endeavors, such as Projects Outside Art (1970), addressed issues of housing, education, environmental sustainability, and communication.

About 9 Evenings–

In 1965, Swedish electrical engineer Billy Klüver and American artist Robert Rauschenberg gathered 10 avant-garde artists and 30 Bell Labs engineers to participate in a collaborative, multidisciplinary project combining new technologies with theatre, dance, and music. The event,9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, took place at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York, from October 13-22, 1966. More than 10,000 people attended performances by John Cage, Lucinda Childs, Oyvind Fahlström, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Rauschenberg, David Tudor and Robert Whitman. These performances incorporated technological equipment such as photocells, doppler sonar, remote controls, infrared cameras, and transistors. In addition, 9 Evenings engineers created the Theatre Electronic Environmental Modular, a flexible, wireless, networked control system, and the Proportional Control System (PCS), which used photocells to adjust light and sound levels. The event led to the founding of Experiments in Art and Technology the following month.

Below are images and objects from two of the nine evenings, Open Score and Physical Things–

About Open Score (pictured above along with Rauschenberg's hand written description–

Open Score began with a tennis match between professional player Mimi Kanarek and painter Frank Stella. Engineer William Kaminski wired their rackets with transmitters that caused every strike of the ball to emit a loud sound and extinguish an overhead light. The game continued until the Armory was completely dark. At that point, a cast of 300 volunteers walked onto the court and performed a series of loosely choreographed movements while infrared cameras projected their images onto large screens. Rauschenberg described the action as “the conflict of not being able to see an event that is taking place right in front of one except through a reproduction,” an idea that resonates in today’s world of social media, streaming, and smartphones. For the second performance, Rauschenberg added a third section in which he carried dancer Simone Forti around the Armory in a burlap bag while she sang an Italian ballad.

About Steve Paxton and Dick Wolff’s Physical Things–

For 9 Evenings, Paxton created an enormous, inflated sculpture using Polyethylene and box fans and invited visitors to walk through the structure at their own pace, confronting different environments and performances along the way. After climbing through a 100-foot inflated tower, participants emerged into an enclosed area with wire loops suspended above their heads. Using modified transistor radios, they could listen to an array of sounds, including animal noises and sports commentary. One’s location underneath the sound loops determined which part of the score was audible, allowing people to choose where to linger and what to listen to.

One of the group’s most ambitious projects was for the Pepsi Pavilion, pictured above.

From the museum-

In 1970, the Pepsi-Cola Corporation commissioned E.A.T. to design a pavilion for Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan. Artists Robert Whitman, Robert Breer, David Tudor, and Forrest Myers made early contributions to the design of the pavilion; eventually the design team included 20 artists and 50 engineers and scientists.

Outside the pavilion, a water-vapor cloud sculpture by the artist Fujiko Nakaya covered the white, faceted dome. On the plaza, seven of Breer’s Floats, six-foot-high dome-shaped sculptures, glided in slow motion while emitting sounds.

Visitors entered the pavilion through a tunnel and descended a staircase into a clamshell-shaped room lit by moving patterns of laser light. On the far end, another staircase led up into the Mirror Dome, a 90-foot diameter, 210-degree spherical mirror made of aluminized Mylar. Within the Mirror Dome, visitors’ reflected images appeared to float upside down above their heads.

You can find more images and further documentation here.

This exhibition closes 2/23/25.

[zegalba]

‘Healthy Capsule’ at the Sanyo Pavilion for Expo 1970 in Suita, Osaka, Japan.

[stillunusual]

Tower of the Sun

[dukeofdelirium]

Jackson 5 — ABC live at Black Expo, Chicago, 1972

[boldlygoingforth]

About a year ago, I learned of the existence of the Tower of the Sun, and I decided, right then and there, that I wanted to go to Japan and see her. And I did! The Tower of the Sun was designed by Tarō Okamoto for the 1970 Osaka Expo and is the symbol of Expo 70. The psychedelic "Tree of Life" interior has been (mostly) restored, and you can view it while climbing up the spiral staircase that runs along the inside of the tower. Pictures were prohibited on the upper floors, but I was able to snap a few from the bottom.

Here he is with his creation:

[obsessedbyneon]

The Tower of the Sun as a 'Godzilla' like creature. On the right the Soviet pavillion.

Osamu Tezuka (1928 - 1989)'s illustration of the Tower of the Sun for the Expo '70 flyer. Shonen Magazine Cover, 1970

[ode2miss-shared-epiphany4you]

Tower of the Sun Expo ‘70 Tara Okamoto

[philoursmars]

Marseille. Au MuCEM, une expo "Paradis Naturistes". Donc, si une paire de seins ou de couilles vous gêne, passez votre sage chemin...

Bernard Villemot - affiche pour Perrier

Bernard Villemot - affiche pour Bergasol

anonyme - 4ème de couverture de "Vision de Demain"

revue "Die Neue Zeit" (photo prise à l'Hôpital Caroline, sur les îles du Frioul)

Hervé Lassïnce - sans titre

Georges Pavec - "Brunir"

Enzo Tonati - "Etoiles 1, Île du Levant, Domaine naturiste d'Héliopolis"

[davetada]

Tower of the sun

Osaka, Japan

[paraparaparadigm]

[zegalba]

Isamu Noguchi: Fountains for Expo 70 (1970) Located: Osaka, Japan

[bonguri]

20240621 NIFREL 2 by Bong Grit Via Flickr: 水族館の人気者。この日もお子様の注目度抜群。 Photo taken at Daidoin temple, Mori town, Shuchi district, Shizuoka pref.