Posted by cav on July 04, 2005 at 06:18:37:
I just recently went to the world's fair here in Japan. I have to say it was no great revelation. In fact I was hoping to find lesso f the typical commercialism and money driving things. And it was crowded in some places. Hang up seeing any of the real flashy stuff unless you just go to do that alone because it will take you all day to get through the line (conveneint for ticket sales, don't you think?)
But I have to say, New Zealand and Turkey had the most incredible exhibits I've seen. New Zealand had a huge chunk of jade with water falling from the roof onto it, and visitors could touch it at will while bilingual hosts answered questions and gave info. At the same time ,a huge wrap around screen played an awesome stylish video merging Maori images and music with the European influence in the country...I was mezmerized as the mountain landscape gently turned into a female sillhouette that welcomed the clouds into her arms as they turned into a male figure. Awesome image about the merging of land and sky to form the country. Thye also had Maori dancers...what a great culture, and one of the only indigenous cultures that was not wiped out or devastated by the settlers. Did you know that Maori AND English are offical languages there?
Turkey's pavillion was about the geometry of nature. The whole thing black-walled with colored geometric patterns, mosaics, sculptures, and videos highlighting how Turkish culture has used it's nature and knowledge of geometry and pattern to create a unique style. The pavillion was the perfect merger of those ideas with modern technology, showing that it doesn't have to be an either/ or proposition. And wow what beautiful people!